June 2020 - well-trained bodies

[IvyInFlorida]

1 hour ago, soror said:

Red letter day yesterday- I clicked all 24 boxes on Daily Dozen list (misleading name) and 12 hrs straight activity.

 

What a great day!  You rock and I'm so jealous!

[Soror]

Hmm, saw this recipe- might make this for breakfast-- w/ some greek yogurt....

https://cookieandkate.com/cinnamon-breakfast-quinoa-recipe/

Edited June 12, 2020 by soror

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

Red letter day yesterday- I clicked all 24 boxes on Daily Dozen list (misleading name) and 12 hrs straight activity. I only managed 15 min of yoga but also got in a walk.

Great job!! Is this a food/nutrition or exercise specific check list? 

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, IvyInFlorida said:

 

Thank you! 

Well, after submitting a long list of possible names to my husband, he ruthlessly vetoed all of them except 2, lol.  One is his name (he's the II and this baby would be the III) and the other goes great with his/his dad's middle name.  I like the second option, because my husband's name is 1) very unusual and 2)in my mind belongs to him and it would be odd to me to have a baby called that.  BUT since his dad passed away when he was only like 6 I totally understand wanting to honor him.  And my husband's name does lend itself to a cute nickname for a baby.  I do think that we are both leaning toward the other name, though, and pairing it with my husband's middle name.  Gosh that was probably confusing.  ANYWAYS, my husband is kind of waffling and I'm dying for him to just make up his mind already, lol!  I had such an easy time naming Sebastian and Vincent so this drawn out process is driving me batty!  Once he expresses some opinion either way and we hash it out I'll report back.

Speaking of driving me batty, I can't wait to feel the baby move, but I found out that I have an anterior placenta (who knew there was such a thing?!) and that will act like a cushion and make it take longer for me to feel any movement.  GAH.

It can be a challenge to find the right name. Sometimes it's a good idea to have 2 possible names and wait until the baby comes. One may seem a lot better choice then.  Exciting times!!

[wintermom]

It's a beautiful, sunny day, and I'll be doing my yoga and push-ups outside again. Dh and I have a doubles tennis match later this morning, and then I'll go for a hike with a friend. 

My maintenance weight is still slowly increasing, so I thought I'd do a calorie estimate and see if I'm eating way more than needed for my requirements. According to my google search, as an active 53 yo woman, I should be able to maintain with 2,200 calories. My estimate is under 2,000 consumed. So I could be calculating wrong, I may need less calories for my activity, my bathroom scale is inaccurate, my hormones are doing weird things, or a host of other possibilities. I feel fine and fit into my clothes just fine, but it's still annoying to have the scale creep up ever so slightly but continuously over the months. 

I could simply be driving myself a little crazy here without cause. It's a good reminder that weight loss/gain/maintenance is very challenging full stop. 🤪

[Laura Corin]

14 minutes ago, wintermom said:

It's a beautiful, sunny day, and I'll be doing my yoga and push-ups outside again. Dh and I have a doubles tennis match later this morning, and then I'll go for a hike with a friend. 

My maintenance weight is still slowly increasing, so I thought I'd do a calorie estimate and see if I'm eating way more than needed for my requirements. According to my google search, as an active 53 yo woman, I should be able to maintain with 2,200 calories. My estimate is under 2,000 consumed. So I could be calculating wrong, I may need less calories for my activity, my bathroom scale is inaccurate, my hormones are doing weird things, or a host of other possibilities. I feel fine and fit into my clothes just fine, but it's still annoying to have the scale creep up ever so slightly but continuously over the months. 

I could simply be driving myself a little crazy here without cause. It's a good reminder that weight loss/gain/maintenance is very challenging full stop. 🤪

Honestly that sounds high to me for maintenance. I suspect mine is quite a bit under 2000

[Soror]

51 minutes ago, soror said:

Hmm, saw this recipe- might make this for breakfast-- w/ some greek yogurt....

https://cookieandkate.com/cinnamon-breakfast-quinoa-recipe/

Made this and YUMMMY! No, sweetner, just used a chopped apple. Only a bit of toasted pecans.

40 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Great job!! Is this a food/nutrition or exercise specific check list? 

It is mostly nutrition specific, it is an app- but here is the list

1 hour ago, IvyInFlorida said:

 

Thank you! 

Well, after submitting a long list of possible names to my husband, he ruthlessly vetoed all of them except 2, lol.  One is his name (he's the II and this baby would be the III) and the other goes great with his/his dad's middle name.  I like the second option, because my husband's name is 1) very unusual and 2)in my mind belongs to him and it would be odd to me to have a baby called that.  BUT since his dad passed away when he was only like 6 I totally understand wanting to honor him.  And my husband's name does lend itself to a cute nickname for a baby.  I do think that we are both leaning toward the other name, though, and pairing it with my husband's middle name.  Gosh that was probably confusing.  ANYWAYS, my husband is kind of waffling and I'm dying for him to just make up his mind already, lol!  I had such an easy time naming Sebastian and Vincent so this drawn out process is driving me batty!  Once he expresses some opinion either way and we hash it out I'll report back.

Speaking of driving me batty, I can't wait to feel the baby move, but I found out that I have an anterior placenta (who knew there was such a thing?!) and that will act like a cushion and make it take longer for me to feel any movement.  GAH.

It is hard to come to consensus. You can always wait until labor, you have more leverage then 🙂 I hope you can feel the baby before too long, it is very exciting.

26 minutes ago, wintermom said:

It's a beautiful, sunny day, and I'll be doing my yoga and push-ups outside again. Dh and I have a doubles tennis match later this morning, and then I'll go for a hike with a friend. 

My maintenance weight is still slowly increasing, so I thought I'd do a calorie estimate and see if I'm eating way more than needed for my requirements. According to my google search, as an active 53 yo woman, I should be able to maintain with 2,200 calories. My estimate is under 2,000 consumed. So I could be calculating wrong, I may need less calories for my activity, my bathroom scale is inaccurate, my hormones are doing weird things, or a host of other possibilities. I feel fine and fit into my clothes just fine, but it's still annoying to have the scale creep up ever so slightly but continuously over the months. 

I could simply be driving myself a little crazy here without cause. It's a good reminder that weight loss/gain/maintenance is very challenging full stop. 🤪

hormones are always throw a wrench in things. It is hard to say. Could be you are misestimating calories (very easy to do). Calculator is off. My maintenance is about 2k (last I counted things) I'm younger than you so metablism should theoretically be higher but you are more active.  Could be you are putting on muscle with gaining weight but clothes fitting well(you seem to be an ectomorph with your quick ability to gain strength). How is your body performing? How do you llike how you look?

[wintermom]

26 minutes ago, soror said:

 

hormones are always throw a wrench in things. It is hard to say. Could be you are misestimating calories (very easy to do). Calculator is off. My maintenance is about 2k (last I counted things) I'm younger than you so metablism should theoretically be higher but you are more active.  Could be you are putting on muscle with gaining weight but clothes fitting well(you seem to be an ectomorph with your quick ability to gain strength). How is your body performing? How do you llike how you look?

So many factors that are challenging to measure and control. I see that there is more 'squidge' around my middle, but also more upper-body muscle. I'm happy with how my body is performing and I'd like to reduce the squidge around the middle, though this could be a nice energy reserve if/when I get sick. Last summer my weight kept increasing until the end of Aug, then when school started it went down. I had a lot less time for tennis and other intense physical activity. Leads me to suspect that muscle mass is a pretty big factor.

[Ali in OR]

Mind if I step in?

My usual exercise is 30 min walking pretty fast on the treadmill every day and then 10 minutes of core/strength exercises. I have some foot injury I've decided is tensor tendonitis, possibly from tying my shoe too tight on my right foot. Basically, I can't wear a closed shoe or I have pain on the top of my foot. I have no pain at all barefoot and Birkenstocks are fine too, but I can't use the treadmill right now as it will tear up my feet barefoot and Birks don't feel quite safe. So anyway, I'm exploring new ways to try to stay fit. This week I've done a beginner's body weight circuit, walking my wheelchair kid around our hilly neighborhood (in Birks), and today I tried yoga for the first time ever. My calves are really tight and sore, I think from the jumping jacks in the body weight circuit, so I told my dds last night that I wanted to try yoga, nice easy beginner gentle yoga, as I borrowed a yoga mat from them. And I can do yoga barefoot. So I found Yoga with Adriene on Youtube (beginner session) and that was perfect. I still feel like I need more aerobic activity--maybe a walk today if it's not raining. I think I'll keep up the mix of things--anything I can do barefoot or in Birks!

[Laura Corin]

8 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

Mind if I step in?

My usual exercise is 30 min walking pretty fast on the treadmill every day and then 10 minutes of core/strength exercises. I have some foot injury I've decided is tensor tendonitis, possibly from tying my shoe too tight on my right foot. Basically, I can't wear a closed shoe or I have pain on the top of my foot. I have no pain at all barefoot and Birkenstocks are fine too, but I can't use the treadmill right now as it will tear up my feet barefoot and Birks don't feel quite safe. So anyway, I'm exploring new ways to try to stay fit. This week I've done a beginner's body weight circuit, walking my wheelchair kid around our hilly neighborhood (in Birks), and today I tried yoga for the first time ever. My calves are really tight and sore, I think from the jumping jacks in the body weight circuit, so I told my dds last night that I wanted to try yoga, nice easy beginner gentle yoga, as I borrowed a yoga mat from them. And I can do yoga barefoot. So I found Yoga with Adriene on Youtube (beginner session) and that was perfect. I still feel like I need more aerobic activity--maybe a walk today if it's not raining. I think I'll keep up the mix of things--anything I can do barefoot or in Birks!

Welcome.  I'm a big Yoga with Adriene fan.

[wintermom]

10 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

Mind if I step in?

My usual exercise is 30 min walking pretty fast on the treadmill every day and then 10 minutes of core/strength exercises. I have some foot injury I've decided is tensor tendonitis, possibly from tying my shoe too tight on my right foot. Basically, I can't wear a closed shoe or I have pain on the top of my foot. I have no pain at all barefoot and Birkenstocks are fine too, but I can't use the treadmill right now as it will tear up my feet barefoot and Birks don't feel quite safe. So anyway, I'm exploring new ways to try to stay fit. This week I've done a beginner's body weight circuit, walking my wheelchair kid around our hilly neighborhood (in Birks), and today I tried yoga for the first time ever. My calves are really tight and sore, I think from the jumping jacks in the body weight circuit, so I told my dds last night that I wanted to try yoga, nice easy beginner gentle yoga, as I borrowed a yoga mat from them. And I can do yoga barefoot. So I found Yoga with Adriene on Youtube (beginner session) and that was perfect. I still feel like I need more aerobic activity--maybe a walk today if it's not raining. I think I'll keep up the mix of things--anything I can do barefoot or in Birks!

Welcome!  I used to get pain on the top of my foot when running. Someone suggested elastic shoe laces with a toggle that are available at running shoe stores. They worked perfectly! Not being able to wear running/tennis shoes is just too limiting, in my view. I'd look into fixing up that issue, especially as you want to stay active all year round when it's too cold outside for sandals. 

[Soror]

• Strength done 
• walk done

Edited June 12, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

Welcome @Ali in OR! Great job getting in exercise, I'm sorry about your foot. I'm not really familiar with that so I hate to make any suggestions that might make it worse. Is swimming a possible exercise you can do (seems like that wouldn't hurt the foot and get you some good cardio.

[Laura Corin]

Phew.  Long day.  I just finished work at 9pm.  No exercise at all.  I'm just going to do a bit of gentle yoga before bed.

[Ali in OR]

37 minutes ago, soror said:

Welcome @Ali in OR! Great job getting in exercise, I'm sorry about your foot. I'm not really familiar with that so I hate to make any suggestions that might make it worse. Is swimming a possible exercise you can do (seems like that wouldn't hurt the foot and get you some good cardio.

Swimming is not possible at the moment but pools might open soon. The bigger problem is that I don't think I'm a good enough swimmer to count it as exercise. I've tried a weekend resting the foot--not enough. Then a whole week--not enough. So I'm hoping it might resolve by later in the summer.  And it's a good challenge to find other ways to exercise--I'm clearly using some muscle groups now that haven't been tested recently!

[Matryoshka]

I played with my new toy!  I did a 10-minute warmup that was what we always did to start out the couple of years I did winter erg training, and then I printed out a template of various workouts from the C2 site and did the first suggested one - 4 min hard rowing, 3 min light rowing, and did 3 circuits of that.  I would've done one more, but I think I need to install a box fan in the hallway or I'm going to overheat!   I am thinking of doing a bit of weight work, and my nordic poles arrived today as well, so I may just take a short walk to try them out - it's a beautiful day here!

And welcome, @Ali in OR!

[wintermom]

My friend and I went on our hike armed with seeds to attract critters for photos. On this particular trail lots of people regularly feed the wildlife, and the squirrels and chipmunks are not shy. here are my attempts. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by wintermom

[IvyInFlorida]

@soror I have been thinking about that quinoa you linked to all day so finally gave in and had it for supper (I knew the ribs I made for my guys were gonna be a big nope for me).  It was great!  Thanks for that recipe.  I made some tweaks to accommodate my irritable tummy and it was still yummy.

 

 

[barnwife]

@IvyInFlorida I'm glad your pregnancy is going well. Sorry names are frustrating you. When I was pregnant with my first, DH told me he couldn't think about names until baby was here...and he stuck to that! I am currently pregnant with #5. The only discussion of names we've had while I've (ever) been pregnant occurred because he stumbled across me reading about a certain girls' name online. "Ugh...I don't like that at all!" he said. I was sad, because it was my favorite name (at the time). Fast forward to the birth of a baby girl and it turns out we could agree on 0 names. 

DD was almost a week old, and my mom asked (again!) if baby had a name. I said she'd be among the first to know. She told me she was just going to call baby (name I'd been researching that DH saw, which I'd told no one). And when I told DH what my mom said, he announced, "But I like that name!"

PP hormones had me vacillating between mean thoughts and happiness I could put a name on the birth certificate!

Sadly, I think #5 will be even more difficult to name, whether this kid is a boy or girl.

Anyway, today included a walk and some weeding. I'd like to get some yoga in before bed tonight, but we shall see. It should be a beautiful weekend here, so hopefully I can count a lot of walking as exercise.

[KathyBC]

12 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Mind if I step in?

My usual exercise is 30 min walking pretty fast on the treadmill every day and then 10 minutes of core/strength exercises. I have some foot injury I've decided is tensor tendonitis, possibly from tying my shoe too tight on my right foot. Basically, I can't wear a closed shoe or I have pain on the top of my foot. I have no pain at all barefoot and Birkenstocks are fine too, but I can't use the treadmill right now as it will tear up my feet barefoot and Birks don't feel quite safe. So anyway, I'm exploring new ways to try to stay fit. This week I've done a beginner's body weight circuit, walking my wheelchair kid around our hilly neighborhood (in Birks), and today I tried yoga for the first time ever. My calves are really tight and sore, I think from the jumping jacks in the body weight circuit, so I told my dds last night that I wanted to try yoga, nice easy beginner gentle yoga, as I borrowed a yoga mat from them. And I can do yoga barefoot. So I found Yoga with Adriene on Youtube (beginner session) and that was perfect. I still feel like I need more aerobic activity--maybe a walk today if it's not raining. I think I'll keep up the mix of things--anything I can do barefoot or in Birks!

I have high arches and one foot is, not uncommonly, slightly bigger than the other. I have had to search up different techniques for lacing my shoes to avoid foot pain. I can tell if I pull the laces too tight, for sure!

[Soror]

14 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Swimming is not possible at the moment but pools might open soon. The bigger problem is that I don't think I'm a good enough swimmer to count it as exercise. I've tried a weekend resting the foot--not enough. Then a whole week--not enough. So I'm hoping it might resolve by later in the summer.  And it's a good challenge to find other ways to exercise--I'm clearly using some muscle groups now that haven't been tested recently!

I hear you, I'm not good at swimming either. Hopefully, some of the ladies here have some good ideas.

10 hours ago, IvyInFlorida said:

@soror I have been thinking about that quinoa you linked to all day so finally gave in and had it for supper (I knew the ribs I made for my guys were gonna be a big nope for me).  It was great!  Thanks for that recipe.  I made some tweaks to accommodate my irritable tummy and it was still yummy.

 

 

Glad you liked it!

9 hours ago, barnwife said:

@IvyInFlorida I'm glad your pregnancy is going well. Sorry names are frustrating you. When I was pregnant with my first, DH told me he couldn't think about names until baby was here...and he stuck to that! I am currently pregnant with #5. The only discussion of names we've had while I've (ever) been pregnant occurred because he stumbled across me reading about a certain girls' name online. "Ugh...I don't like that at all!" he said. I was sad, because it was my favorite name (at the time). Fast forward to the birth of a baby girl and it turns out we could agree on 0 names. 

DD was almost a week old, and my mom asked (again!) if baby had a name. I said she'd be among the first to know. She told me she was just going to call baby (name I'd been researching that DH saw, which I'd told no one). And when I told DH what my mom said, he announced, "But I like that name!"

PP hormones had me vacillating between mean thoughts and happiness I could put a name on the birth certificate!

Sadly, I think #5 will be even more difficult to name, whether this kid is a boy or girl.

Anyway, today included a walk and some weeding. I'd like to get some yoga in before bed tonight, but we shall see. It should be a beautiful weekend here, so hopefully I can count a lot of walking as exercise.

Our #3 was named days after the birth, all the names we talked about before didn't fit at all. We changed our mind with dd#1 as soon as she was born. #1 was changed in labor, dh says it wasn't fair 🙂

Edited June 13, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

This weekend it is finishing digging holes and pouring concrete. So, more digging and plenty of lifting- we'll have nearly 30 - 60# bags to carry. 

Hopefully, holes are finished today and we do concrete tomorrow. Our speed is not too fast with all the rocks so we'll see. It is supposed to be hot so if we can spare the time we'll do a break in the afternoon when it is the hottest and maybe take a nap (I slept well but awoke at 4:20- probably shouldn't have taken a nap with dh yesterday afternoon). Dh rented an electric mixer so we don't have to stir by hand so we have to finish this weekend so we can return it on time. I told him with all the work we've put in already it is worth it to save a bit of labor.

I've been eating more veg meals and I've noticed that before what I'd do was just take the meat out of the recipe but I need to increase the other things to make up for that to be really filling. I know that seems like a no-brainer. I was paleo so long I'm still used to smaller portions of grains and beans. I find beans more filling than grains so I've been upping them more. I've tried to entirely veg and vegan and failed in the long run as I just didn't feel the best but I keep trying to cut intake, although I'm showing 2 meat meals today ironically 🙂 Over the week I'm eating less and continually working on it. I was just going to eat rice and beans for lunch today but I have some uncured beef hotdogs we need to use, the family is not a big fan  of hotdogs but I got them on big sale and they will be quick.

breakfast:

"cinnamon toast" quinoa (no sweetner)+ chopped apple; protein smoothie w/ spinach, strawberries, cocoa, and bit of banana

lunch: 

bbq beef hotdog+ homemade slaw and baked beans; cucumbers and tomato side; dark chocolate

dinner:

red beans and rice w/ homemade turkey sausage w/ peppers and onions

snacks: TBD depending on work load and hunger!

 

[Laura Corin]

I considered 'Piers' for one of our children. Given the horror that is Piers Morgan, I'm glad that Husband vetoed it. That child later changed their name anyway. 

My brother called one daughter Beatrice for a week or so after her birth, but it didn't feel right, so she became Hannah.

Slept well and haven't really planned the day. Probably a walk in the woods and some yoga.

[barnwife]

2 hours ago, soror said:

 

Our #3 was named days after the birth, all the names we talked about before didn't fit at all. We changed our mind with dd#1 as soon as she was born. #1 was changed in labor, dh says it wasn't fair 🙂

RE: what I bolded...I'm sorry, but in this case, Mr. Soror is just wrong. As I tell my kids, everybody's wrong sometimes...

I got up not long before everybody else today. Usually the kids read or build with legos if I am exercising. Today, for some reason, they all decided to crash my exercise time. I thought about giving up and trying later as I'd barely started, but didn't. I perservered and did some cardio with the "help" of 4 kids. 

Not the most cardio-ish exercise ever, nor the best for me mentally (I like my exercise as me time), but it got done. And, to be fair, watching kids exercise can be hilarious.

Today is a laundry and cleaning the house day. I also want to pick our garlic scapes and hopefully enjoy a walk during this beautiful weather. 
Breakfast: fried eggs, 2 prunes
Lunch: Salad of some kind
Dinner: leftover brats and stuff

I hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start!

[Ali in OR]

I love Saturday mornings. I was about to say I'm the only early bird in the house, but I can hear disabled dd humming, so she's up too. She wakes with the birds. I wake with the birds and the cat. He walks over me to my pillow (5:35am--same as my weekday schedule) and starts eating my hair until I get up and feed him. But I don't mind too much. I love being up when no one else is. I'm having my Saturday morning mocha and catching up here. I'll get dd up too (it's a whole routine--tooth brushing, meds, diaper change, dressed, up and into her stander, feed her breakfast while in stander--about 45 minutes, so I'm not eager to start during my me time).

I take weekends off for my normal exercise routine (treadmill, weights), but since I'm not in my normal routine I think I will do the yoga again. I've decided I really need to work on lengthening my calf muscles. I googled, and yes, you're supposed to be able to get your heels on the mat during downward dog. I think not paying attention to stretching my calves has contributed to foot problems (certainly my two bouts of plantar fasciitis in 2012 and 2017), so that's motivating me to change my ways.

We're obviously in a different climate zone than some of you--showers all day today and highs near 60°. I'll get some chili going in the crockpot--that kind of day. This is our 3rd or 4th weekend in a row of unusually cool, rainy weather. Still waiting for summer.

[Laura Corin]

@Ali in OR lots of people don't get their heels to the mat during downward dog. It also depends how long your stance is. It's worth working in, but lots of people aren't there. Glad you are having a peaceful moment. 

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-yoga-instructor-in-class-with-people-in-downward-dog-position-85720725.html

ETA cool here too. We have the woodstove going. Just heading out for a walk in the mist.

Edited June 13, 2020 by Laura Corin

[Soror]

On 6/9/2020 at 12:43 PM, wintermom said:

. 😉

Sorry wintermom can't get the quote box to disappear. On my phone outside taking a dig break. I was going to agree with Laura and say most can't get their heels to the ground. In various classes with regular people it is fairly rare. Now advanced classes with people with lots of experience usually can but even then not always. You can work on it but don't fret- part is practice at flexibility and our daily motions and part is biomechanics. It can take awhile to redo movement patterns decades old. 

[Ali in OR]

Yeah, but my heels are way up in the air. All the other yoga things that might trip up a beginner feel pretty good--posture and centering are natural from my youth training as an ice skater. And sense of balance. And general flexibility for the rest of my body. But the tight and sore calves and foot problems has me thinking it's time to work on this area.

[wintermom]

42 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

Yeah, but my heels are way up in the air. All the other yoga things that might trip up a beginner feel pretty good--posture and centering are natural from my youth training as an ice skater. And sense of balance. And general flexibility for the rest of my body. But the tight and sore calves and foot problems has me thinking it's time to work on this area.

My biggest complaint with yoga is the lack of scientific research and support behind the safety of the poses and movements. The poses or movements were not developed by physicians, human biomechanics experts,  physical education specialists, etc. using current evidence regarding effectiveness of stretches or injury prevention. There a lots of poses that are actually pretty dangerous in terms of stretching with a safe and solid base to help prevent a person from losing their balance and straining a muscle or tendon.

Down dog is definitely a pose that requires more balance skill than an opportunity to do a nice safe stretch of the calf area muscles and tendons. It is a lot safer, in terms of injury prevention, to stand firmly on the ground, hands on a wall, leg back with heal on the ground to stretch out the calf. You can then do one leg at a time, stretch different muscles by stretching with a bent knee, and also with a straight knee. 

Personally, when I do my 'yoga' and stretching, I split up balance from stretching, and work on them separately. Stretches are done with a very stable base, often laying down. When I do balance poses I never stretch to my max. Joints and muscles are in very vulnerable positions during balances. 

[KathyBC]

3 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

I love Saturday mornings. I was about to say I'm the only early bird in the house, but I can hear disabled dd humming, so she's up too. She wakes with the birds. I wake with the birds and the cat. He walks over me to my pillow (5:35am--same as my weekday schedule) and starts eating my hair until I get up and feed him. But I don't mind too much. I love being up when no one else is. I'm having my Saturday morning mocha and catching up here. I'll get dd up too (it's a whole routine--tooth brushing, meds, diaper change, dressed, up and into her stander, feed her breakfast while in stander--about 45 minutes, so I'm not eager to start during my me time).

I take weekends off for my normal exercise routine (treadmill, weights), but since I'm not in my normal routine I think I will do the yoga again. I've decided I really need to work on lengthening my calf muscles. I googled, and yes, you're supposed to be able to get your heels on the mat during downward dog. I think not paying attention to stretching my calves has contributed to foot problems (certainly my two bouts of plantar fasciitis in 2012 and 2017), so that's motivating me to change my ways.

We're obviously in a different climate zone than some of you--showers all day today and highs near 60°. I'll get some chili going in the crockpot--that kind of day. This is our 3rd or 4th weekend in a row of unusually cool, rainy weather. Still waiting for summer.

 

2 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Yeah, but my heels are way up in the air. All the other yoga things that might trip up a beginner feel pretty good--posture and centering are natural from my youth training as an ice skater. And sense of balance. And general flexibility for the rest of my body. But the tight and sore calves and foot problems has me thinking it's time to work on this area.

Yup, you can search up physical therapy videos on YouTube for plantar fasciitis and calf stretches are in there. I like Dr. Jo's stuff. I've added some stretches and exercises for plantar fasciitis and snapping hip syndrome (self-diagnosed, no IRL appts. this spring anyway) right after my body weight HIIT circuit once a week. Just added in some glute strengthening balance work (PT video I stumbled across on FB) a few other times a week.

[Laura Corin]

A good walk in the haar/sea mist through the woods. The dog came back sopping wet, having sponged up moisture from the air.  

Food: breakfast - muesli, yoghurt, peach; lunch - green salad with grated cheese and flaked almonds, home made oatcakes; supper - fresh tuna and veg of some kind (Husband cooking); snacks - apples, low fat cheese, more oatcakes.

[wintermom]

@Laura Corin I love your photos! I feel like I could step right into them and enjoy the the scenery. 

I just returned from a 2 hr 'restorative' hike by myself. It was completely satisfying just enjoying the sights, sounds, smells and feel of nature.

I also completed my stretch and strength work. 

[Laura Corin]

@Dreamergal the 'feels like' temperature today was around 10 degrees C so around 50 degrees F. Glad you had a good swim.

@wintermom your hike sounds like mine - alone, peaceful

I'm heading off for some yoga, then bed.

[wintermom]

28 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

 

@wintermom  Love your photos of the squirrel. It is a squirrel right and not a chipmunk ?? Glad you had a restorative hike today.

 

As for me, swam third day today. Pool numbers increased a bit today, but was able to have a nice long swim. Picked up a few more herbs and lettuce seeds. DH made lunch today. Different salads like bean, chicken, vegetable and fruit salads washed down with cold buttermilk. Very hot today, so staying inside or in the shade. 

Have a good rest of the weekend ladies !

The top photo is the chipmunk, with the black stripes and the short tail. The second photo is a red squirrel, with the big, bushy tail. It's hard to tell in the photos, but squirrels are larger than chipmunks. 

That's wonderful you've been able to get in so much swimming! 

[Laura Corin]

I forgot my wildlife notes. I startled a grey squirrel, which ran right in front of me, then scampered up a tree, scolding me all the way. And all the time I was in the woods, an owl was hooting, presumably confused by the mist into believing it was dusk.

[wintermom]

16 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

I forgot my wildlife notes. I startled a grey squirrel, which ran right in front of me, then scampered up a tree, scolding me all the way. And all the time I was in the woods, an owl was hooting, presumably confused by the mist into believing it was dusk.

I love the behavioural descriptions! The squirrels and chipmunks are forever scolding me, and especially the dog, for walking through their forest. If I sit quietly and just observe for a while they calm down. 

[Laura Corin]

Woke up much too early. Will probably do some yoga and have a short walk. 

Breakfast - low sugar baked oatmeal, yoghurt, raspberries; lunch - green salad with crab and oatcakes; supper - chickpeas with beer-caramelised onions, roast cauliflower and something green plus rice.

[Soror]

Thank you ladies for sharing your beautiful pics.

@Dreamergal, so happy you got in some swimming.

@Laura Corin I hope you get some rest today after the early morning.

re: yoga- I agree with you @wintermom, some yoga moves aren't great at all for the body. It is always important to make a note how something feels. I always told students that if something hurts, absolutely don't do it. A bit of a stretch is fine and feeling your muscles work is fine but pain is never fine. I took teacher trainer under someone who studied anatomy and trained alongside a PT and PTA we talked a lot about movements and what was safe and what was not. There are people working on modifying poses with what we know now. Another thing we also talked a lot about was protecting the ligaments and joints, just because you can get in a position doesn't mean you should. Not only in individual poses but some transitions are problematic the way they are traditionally done (like a Warrior 3 to Half-Moon is rough on the hip). We didn't hang out putting pressure on the joint in an extreme pose. Maintaining our mobility is super important as we age and most of us don't stretch enough however, most are far from stretching too much! 

We did more digging lining things up, then we got the forms for concrete in 3 holes and then backfilled around them (more shoveling!). Today we are pouring concrete and have the last hole still but it will be the smallest with everything lined up and ready. I really felt the shoveling in my abs, digging I feel more upper body but the shoveling you are digging in and twisting with a throw.

Food has been good whole foods, I've hit the Daily Dozen list 3 days in a row now, woot. I'm happy with food quality (not perfect but good enough), I have to get the quantity down here and there as I've been over 125, which is a couple pounds up from where I want to be. I've been trying to note what is filling. I loved the cinnamon crunch quinoa but it isn't filling enough for breakfast, meanwhile the huevos rancheros were super filling for the same amount of calories. Beans make a big difference in satiety, nuts/fats help with satisfaction.

I woke up at 5:15 since I'm used to getting up early I'll make a big breakfast since we're going to have a long day. I need to menu plan too and hopefully make a lunch for the week. 

breakfast: 

pumpkin pancakes (pumpkin, cottage cheese, oats)- drizzle w/ honey (from our bees), berries on the side

lunch:

leftover chicken curry with brown rice- chickpeas, sweet potato, and spinach

dinner: 

big salad w/ spinach + romaine,  baked cod, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, feta, beans of some kind, orange

snacks: apple and pb (if the kids haven't had them all), going to make some 'healthy" desert today trying to figure out what; rest of kale chips I made yesterday (so yummy!)

Edited June 14, 2020 by soror

[wintermom]

3 hours ago, soror said:

Thank you ladies for sharing your beautiful pics.

@Dreamergal, so happy you got in some swimming.

@Laura Corin I hope you get some rest today after the early morning.

re: yoga- I agree with you @wintermom, some yoga moves aren't great at all for the body. It is always important to make a note how something feels. I always told students that if something hurts, absolutely don't do it. A bit of a stretch is fine and feeling your muscles work is fine but pain is never fine. I took teacher trainer under someone who studied anatomy and trained alongside a PT and PTA we talked a lot about movements and what was safe and what was not. There are people working on modifying poses with what we know now. Another thing we also talked a lot about was protecting the ligaments and joints, just because you can get in a position doesn't mean you should. Not only in individual poses but some transitions are problematic the way they are traditionally done (like a Warrior 3 to Half-Moon is rough on the hip). We didn't hang out putting pressure on the joint in an extreme pose. Maintaining our mobility is super important as we age and most of us don't stretch enough however, most are far from stretching too much! 

We did more digging lining things up, then we got the forms for concrete in 3 holes and then backfilled around them (more shoveling!). Today we are pouring concrete and have the last hole still but it will be the smallest with everything lined up and ready. I really felt the shoveling in my abs, digging I feel more upper body but the shoveling you are digging in and twisting with a throw.

Food has been good whole foods, I've hit the Daily Dozen list 3 days in a row now, woot. I'm happy with food quality (not perfect but good enough), I have to get the quantity down here and there as I've been over 125, which is a couple pounds up from where I want to be. I've been trying to note what is filling. I loved the cinnamon crunch quinoa but it isn't filling enough for breakfast, meanwhile the huevos rancheros were super filling for the same amount of calories. Beans make a big difference in satiety, nuts/fats help with satisfaction.

I woke up at 5:15 since I'm used to getting up early I'll make a big breakfast since we're going to have a long day. I need to menu plan too and hopefully make a lunch for the week. 

breakfast: 

pumpkin pancakes (pumpkin, cottage cheese, oats)- drizzle w/ honey (from our bees), berries on the side

lunch:

leftover chicken curry with brown rice- chickpeas, sweet potato, and spinach

dinner: 

big salad w/ spinach + romaine,  baked cod, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, feta, beans of some kind, orange

snacks: apple and pb (if the kids haven't had them all), going to make some 'healthy" desert today trying to figure out what; rest of kale chips I made yesterday (so yummy!)

That is great to hear about your yoga teacher training and incorporating in concepts of anatomy, joint function, and practical mobility for the individual. I found similar issues with my martial arts training, and fortunately my head instructor was very open to learning about anatomy and joint function, and modifying training movements and processes to try and prevent injury. 

All the best with the digging and fencing work. You rock!!

[wintermom]

I did my morning yoga and push-ups outside in the backyard. It was lovely listening to the birds, enjoying the smells of the earth, and warmth of the sunshine. I was on the look-out for insects in my lawn, and it was very quiet. Not much activity there at all. The robins and grackles are often on the lawn and seem to be finding some things. I'm hoping all the watering I'm doing for the new grass seed is bringing up some worms for the birds and chicks.

This afternoon dh and I are playing mixed doubles tennis with friends. Should be fun!

My weight is back down to 130 without my changing anything to my diet. It was a rest day as far as vigorous activity goes, as well. Seems to be the pattern with me. 

[KathyBC]

4 hours ago, soror said:

 

re: yoga- I agree with you @wintermom, some yoga moves aren't great at all for the body. It is always important to make a note how something feels. I always told students that if something hurts, absolutely don't do it. A bit of a stretch is fine and feeling your muscles work is fine but pain is never fine. I took teacher trainer under someone who studied anatomy and trained alongside a PT and PTA we talked a lot about movements and what was safe and what was not. There are people working on modifying poses with what we know now. Another thing we also talked a lot about was protecting the ligaments and joints, just because you can get in a position doesn't mean you should. Not only in individual poses but some transitions are problematic the way they are traditionally done (like a Warrior 3 to Half-Moon is rough on the hip). We didn't hang out putting pressure on the joint in an extreme pose. Maintaining our mobility is super important as we age and most of us don't stretch enough however, most are far from stretching too much!

My knees hyperextend, part of a range of issues I'm working on. I've had discomfort with too many warrior poses (perhaps it's the transitions?) and have had to train myself not to sink too deeply into the poses. I suspect my hip joint hyper extends, too. The focus in yoga used to be so much on downward dog, now it seems to be on hip opening stretches. 

These were little eye-openers for me, linking loose ligaments generally: hyperextended knees, pelvic tilt, plantar fasciitis, tight calves, weak ankles:

https://www.elliehermanpilates.com/ellies-blog/2017/11/20/how-to-help-hyperextension-its-all-in-your-mind

[Laura Corin]

@Dreamergal yes, very umami. Just sauté the onions in olive oil, then pour in some leftover beer with some thyme. Simmer half an hour or more. Then I pureed some of the chickpeas in some stock, before adding the purée to the rest of the chickpeas and more stock, then combining with the onions.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Laura Corin

[hs03842]

This week I started a DIY Nutrisystem-style eating plan. I know how to plan/prep/portion my own meals but have found consistent meal prepping to be difficult to sustain during this season. After looking around for tips, I’m going to buy frozen dinners and prepared snack foods within certain nutrition parameters.  I will also supplement with ample fruits and vegetables as Nutrisystem suggests. Breakfasts are portioned frozen breakfast tacos/sandwiches that are left over from our big weekend breakfasts. The “heat and eat” aspect of this meal plan is very freeing for me right now—it’s actually a huge relief to know that my food is just already done!  I’m also looking in to a hand bicycle for exercise—it’s $50 and will help before my injured hip gets fixed. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by JoyKM

[wintermom]

@Dreamergal  Glad you were able to get in another swim today! Those little thrills we feel when doing activities we love are so beneficial both physically and mentally. The endorphins make us feel great. 😁

It was a beautiful afternoon on the tennis court with good friends, which should have been the recipe for a perfect match. Sadly, both dh and I were making loads of errors which shortened the rallies a lot while increasing the frustration. Oh well, it's just one of those days. It was still fun to be out there doing our thing with some really nice people. 

[Soror]

14 hours ago, JoyKM said:

This week I started a DIY Nutrisystem-style eating plan. I know how to plan/prep/portion my own meals but have found consistent meal prepping to be difficult to sustain during this season. After looking around for tips, I’m going to buy frozen dinners and prepared snack foods within certain nutrition parameters.  I will also supplement with ample fruits and vegetables as Nutrisystem suggests. Breakfasts are portioned frozen breakfast tacos/sandwiches that are left over from our big weekend breakfasts. The “heat and eat” aspect of this meal plan is very freeing for me right now—it’s actually a huge relief to know that my food is just already done!  I’m also looking in to a hand bicycle for exercise—it’s $50 and will help before my injured hip gets fixed. 

Welcome to the thread! I've not familiar with a hand bicycle, best wishes finding one.

15 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@soror Lovely that your have your own bees. Your digging and fencing sounds like so much hard work that I am amazed you work out separately. That is what I love about this thread, when I want to give up working out separately for the day because I have already played with my son, I remember you guys and I will do it. So thank you for that.

@wintermom When I started to exercise, I was told to work out with a trainer who knew about anatomy and would look for preventing injury and pain constantly, not just push you blindly from the beginning. I did have issues with that because not many people have the patience to adjust my posture for squats and exercises like that. One reason I took up swimming because it is more forgiving of my mistakes. Hope you find something like that for yoga. Love you descriptions about working out in your yard and listening to the birds and smelling the earth. In my native language there is a word describing the smell of the earth when the first rains falls. I smell it often when the sprinklers start up after a time of dry. You and @Laura Corin make me notice more of nature around me just as I go about my day. Thank you for that.

@Laura Corin Your food just rocks. Beer caramelized Onion sounds wonderful. How does it taste ?? yeasty and umami ?? I would love to try that. How do you do that ? Crab and oatcakes sounds wonderful too. 

@KathyBC Hi Kathy ! I don't think I have "met" you yet on this thread. 

Swam again today. Straight day 4 of swimming. More than the physical health benefits, the mental health benefits I am reaping are enormous in terms of sheer joy. It's something I've always cherished, but especially now it is such a highlight of my week.  

Have good rest of the day ladies !

Good for you getting another day of swimming!

11 hours ago, wintermom said:

@Dreamergal  Glad you were able to get in another swim today! Those little thrills we feel when doing activities we love are so beneficial both physically and mentally. The endorphins make us feel great. 😁

It was a beautiful afternoon on the tennis court with good friends, which should have been the recipe for a perfect match. Sadly, both dh and I were making loads of errors which shortened the rallies a lot while increasing the frustration. Oh well, it's just one of those days. It was still fun to be out there doing our thing with some really nice people. 

LOL, win some, lose some, at least you got to play.

[Soror]

We got the job done ladies, finally. I'm sure you all are just as tired of hearing about digging after 3 weeks as I am of doing it. Just in concrete I shoveled around 1k pounds! That is not counting the digging and back-filling on the last hole and of course the fun pickaxe work. We collapsed into bed. I'm taking a rest day, my entire right side is sore from my low back up to my shoulder and down my arm, I tried digging some with my left but it is hard to dig on the non-dominant side. My next planned strength work is Wednesday, surely that will be long enough to recover. In the meantime, I'll be doing yoga and stretching out my tired muscles.

Today the kids start outdoors swim lessons. I will not be doing  mine because they don't have adults at this session. I'm thinking of buying a pass to the outdoor pool and maybe try to swim laps sometime, we'll see. We might go to the lake to the beach, the one we like to go to is never crowded and easy to avoid people, especially if we hit it at a good time. 

Nap is def. happening.

Hit daily dozen again yesterday and 12 hrs active. (I had more than that active but that is all I track on my watch)

food:

breakfast: pumpkin high-protein pancakes (eggs, oats, cottage cheese, pumpkin) drizzled with honey and blueberries

lunch: Italian grain bowl with white bean, brown rice, spinach, cucumber, tomato, feta, red onion- feta or mozeralla and homemade vinaigrette

dinner: pan seared boneless chicken thighs w/ roasted or mashed potatoes, green beans w/ garlic

snack: homemade choc. pb cup/ almond (slivered almond w/ unsweet coconut); kale chips (need to make more)

Edited June 15, 2020 by soror

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

We got the job done ladies, finally. I'm sure you all are just as tired of hearing about digging after 3 weeks as I am of doing it. Just in concrete I shoveled around 1k pounds! That is not counting the digging and back-filling on the last hole and of course the fun pickaxe work. We collapsed into bed. I'm taking a rest day, my entire right side is sore from my low back up to my shoulder and down my arm, I tried digging some with my left but it is hard to dig on the non-dominant side. My next planned strength work is Wednesday, surely that will be long enough to recover. In the meantime, I'll be doing yoga and stretching out my tired muscles.

Today the kids start outdoors swim lessons. I will not be doing  mine because they don't have adults at this session. I'm thinking of buying a pass to the outdoor pool and maybe try to swim laps sometime, we'll see. We might go to the lake to the beach, the one we like to go to is never crowded and easy to avoid people, especially if we hit it at a good time. 

Nap is def. happening.

Hit daily dozen again yesterday and 12 hrs active. (I had more than that active but that is all I track on my watch)

food:

breakfast: pumpkin high-protein pancakes (eggs, oats, cottage cheese, pumpkin) drizzled with honey and blueberries

lunch: Italian grain bowl with white bean, brown rice, spinach, cucumber, tomato, feta, red onion- feta or mozeralla and homemade vinaigrette

dinner: pan seared boneless chicken thighs w/ roasted or mashed potatoes, green beans w/ garlic

snack: homemade choc. pb cup/ almond (slivered almond w/ unsweet coconut); kale chips (need to make more)

Yay!! So glad that you've finished off that job. Hats off to you and your dh for all the hard work. I can imagine how sore your back and arms are. Perhaps a warm bath with epsom salts might feel nice?  And don't forget to show us some photos of the results of your efforts! It's wonderful to have a finished product at the end of the hard work to enjoy. It's not quite the same as your Warrior Race, but probably just as challenging. 😉

 

[wintermom]

21 hours ago, KathyBC said:

My knees hyperextend, part of a range of issues I'm working on. I've had discomfort with too many warrior poses (perhaps it's the transitions?) and have had to train myself not to sink too deeply into the poses. I suspect my hip joint hyper extends, too. The focus in yoga used to be so much on downward dog, now it seems to be on hip opening stretches. 

These were little eye-openers for me, linking loose ligaments generally: hyperextended knees, pelvic tilt, plantar fasciitis, tight calves, weak ankles:

https://www.elliehermanpilates.com/ellies-blog/2017/11/20/how-to-help-hyperextension-its-all-in-your-mind

About 15 years ago when I first started a gentle yoga class, my instructor told me she had to retire from yoga due to knee injuries from yoga. At the time I was surprised, as her form of yoga seemed very gentle, however there were obviously movements that didn't work for her. It's really good to recognize one's limitations and avoid those movements. Glad you are aware of yours and can find ways to keep participating while you personalize the stretches and poses. I'm in the same boat, though now I personalize the entire program and simply do my own stretches and poses so I haven't seen a yoga program in about 10 years. I'm very happy with the place I'm at now, and I'm pretty impressed with myself that I'm enjoying stretching daily.😉

[wintermom]

On the schedule today is yoga and push-ups/strength work, doubles tennis and perhaps a hike with a friend in the afternoon. It's gorgeous outside today, so I'll do the yoga in the backyard again and see if I can observe some insects while I do my push-ups in the grass. 😄

Ladies, wouldn't it be nice to have a 'hormone-meter' so we could measure our hormones and know what weird things our body was going to throw our way on any given day? I'd definitely buy one. Even if it was as accurate as the typical weather forecast, at least I would feel like I had some warning of the delights ahead.  Last night was 'periods of cold followed by sudden sweating' and this morning was 'sudden drop in weight by 2 pounds' for unknown reasons. My family would like to know if there are any 'sudden mood swings' on the forecast for this afternoon. 😂

[Soror]

21 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Yay!! So glad that you've finished off that job. Hats off to you and your dh for all the hard work. I can imagine how sore your back and arms are. Perhaps a warm bath with epsom salts might feel nice?  And don't forget to show us some photos of the results of your efforts! It's wonderful to have a finished product at the end of the hard work to enjoy. It's not quite the same as your Warrior Race, but probably just as challenging. 😉

 

You know, I had thought the same thing. I don't know if I mentioned it here but Spartan is doing virtual races instead of the in person ones. I told dh I'm busy enough doing actual work, no need to do workouts that are mimicking work. Carrying 5 gallon buckets, yep did that when we painted the house; carrying logs, did that when we moved the shed and so many other things. 

So, we are finished with digging and pouring concrete but still have a couple more steps to do to finish this job. We still have to build the new floor, that will take at least a weekend. Next, we have to prep it and paint it (to match the house). Dh will do the prep and I'll paint it. Lastly, we get to move the shed onto the new floor and take off the old floor. I'm slightly terrified of moving it but dh thinks it won't be too bad. I know we did the original moving pretty smoothly although it was def hard, but this is thousands of pounds it is not a small feat in any way. I'm thinking it will take another 3 weeks minimum to finish. Yet again, good thing we aren't building the shop, this project is taking forever and we cannot physically work any harder than we are! The rest of the work shouldn't be near as much physical labor however, just takes time and working in the hot sun. Heat index was 90 this weekend, luckily we had some work in the shade but at that temp doing that hard of work the sweat just rolls off of you nonstop.