June 2020 - well-trained bodies

[Soror]

Thank you ladies for the bday wishes, my bday is actually Monday but we thought we'd grab something while in the city as they have better options than local. My food was good but the whole trip was a bit stressful as we didn't make it as early as we wanted and had to rush through everything. Then I went to IKEA to get some new shelves, it showed they had stock and then they were out. I've wanted these shelves for literally years and was finally going to buy them and they didn't have them, that was a disappointment. I'm working on thinning out books and consolidating them so they aren't quite all over the house.

I had a yummy veg meal but it was quite spicy. When I got home I hadn't met my grain, bean, or fruit quota(ate tons of veggies however) so after getting those in I only had 1 small slice of the pizza I planned. No exercise, yesterday, just didn't feel like it when I got home.

Today, I did some tai chi and barre already this am- about 15 minutes (5 tai chi/10 barre).

 I still have strength work to do and plan a bike and/or walk. After 2 days of many hrs in the car I need to move today.

My appt went well, it was just a check up as I haven't been for in person visit (I usually do phone visits) in a long time. I weighed 127 there, fully dressed with shoes and after breakfast, not bad, I'll take it. I'm aiming to slowly inch back down a few pounds still but I'm not stressing over it. I am eating well and feeling pretty good too.

breakfast: steelcut oats w/ cinnamon; chopped apple; walnuts; green smoothie (1 grain; nut; 2 fruit; 2 greens; flax) 

lunch: chickpea salad(celery, onion, grapes, mayo) w/ homemade bread; bamboo soup (leftover from my lunch yesterday) (2 bean; 1 grain; 3 other veg; 1 fruit)

snack: blackbean brownies 

dinner: salmon; asian cabbage/quinoa salad(quinoa, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, oranges, cilantro) (1 grain; 1 cruciferous; 1 bean; 1-2 other veg; 1 fruit; herbs and spices)

[wintermom]

7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

It's going okay, thanks. Eldest, who has left home, has been viewing photos of children's books and deciding which are precious. When the children were small and we lived in China without access to a library, we bought at least a hundred books a year for them in addition to home education books. Most are now going to a better home.

It's so hard to give up those precious books with so many memories. I'm having the same trouble myself with my eventual move. 

Do you have to down-size a lot, or will you be able to keep a lot of your furniture and things?

[wintermom]

48 minutes ago, soror said:

Thank you ladies for the bday wishes, my bday is actually Monday but we thought we'd grab something while in the city as they have better options than local. My food was good but the whole trip was a bit stressful as we didn't make it as early as we wanted and had to rush through everything. Then I went to IKEA to get some new shelves, it showed they had stock and then they were out. I've wanted these shelves for literally years and was finally going to buy them and they didn't have them, that was a disappointment. I'm working on thinning out books and consolidating them so they aren't quite all over the house.

I had a yummy veg meal but it was quite spicy. When I got home I hadn't met my grain, bean, or fruit quota(ate tons of veggies however) so after getting those in I only had 1 small slice of the pizza I planned. No exercise, yesterday, just didn't feel like it when I got home.

Today, I did some tai chi and barre already this am- about 15 minutes (5 tai chi/10 barre).

 I still have strength work to do and plan a bike and/or walk. After 2 days of many hrs in the car I need to move today.

My appt went well, it was just a check up as I haven't been for in person visit (I usually do phone visits) in a long time. I weighed 127 there, fully dressed with shoes and after breakfast, not bad, I'll take it. I'm aiming to slowly inch back down a few pounds still but I'm not stressing over it. I am eating well and feeling pretty good too.

breakfast: steelcut oats w/ cinnamon; chopped apple; walnuts; green smoothie (1 grain; nut; 2 fruit; 2 greens; flax) 

lunch: chickpea salad(celery, onion, grapes, mayo) w/ homemade bread; bamboo soup (leftover from my lunch yesterday) (2 bean; 1 grain; 3 other veg; 1 fruit)

snack: blackbean brownies 

dinner: salmon; asian cabbage/quinoa salad(quinoa, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, oranges, cilantro) (1 grain; 1 cruciferous; 1 bean; 1-2 other veg; 1 fruit; herbs and spices)

Glad your drive, lunch and appt all went well. I can imagine how tired of being in a car you are now! That's the one thing I do not miss during this time is all the driving I was doing. It's exhausting and you have to sit still. That's not easy for me. 😉

Enjoy your bike and/or walk. Great job getting in your tai chi and barre. 

What are the things you enjoy most about tai chi? I've always been curious about this activity.

[Soror]

20 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Glad your drive, lunch and appt all went well. I can imagine how tired of being in a car you are now! That's the one thing I do not miss during this time is all the driving I was doing. It's exhausting and you have to sit still. That's not easy for me. 😉

Enjoy your bike and/or walk. Great job getting in your tai chi and barre. 

What are the things you enjoy most about tai chi? I've always been curious about this activity.

It is amazing how much driving exhausts you. I had not missed driving either and this week has been so much driving, I'm done with it!!!

I enjoy the fluidity of movement with Tai Chi and learning the different sequences.

[Soror]

Strength done. Not my best workout after 2 days of sitting on my butt way too much but got it done anyway.

Now, I've got to go take the kids to my Mom's I was supposed to meet them but she changed and now I have to drive all the way out there, 1.5 hrs round trip to her house. Grrr! Ya, more driving.

[Ali in OR]

For barefoot cardio this morning, I did Jessica Smith's Cardio Ballet. Good workout. I'm thinking I should aim for cardio 3 days/week, so maybe barefoot cardio MWF and the bodyweight circuit and yoga on TTH. Lots of plies today, but they're not bothering me as much as when I started. I'm ending a good week eating-wise too. Tracked everyday, met eating goals, no major disasters. Still, this is the week of the month my weight jumps up, so no immediate reward for all that self-control! Hoping it magically jumps down a pound on Monday or Tuesday, but I need to have a clean weekend first.

[Laura Corin]

5 hours ago, wintermom said:

Do you have to down-size a lot, or will you be able to keep a lot of your furniture and things?

That is an interesting question.  My husband is behaving as though we don't really need to get rid of furniture; I feel as if the new house will be cluttered if we take everything.  I like things a bit more sparse than he does.

We are losing one bedroom (and disposing of the bed from that room) and we are gaining a proper utility room. All the rooms are a bit smaller and it has a late nineteenth century single car garage/stable rather than the double garage we had before.  We are getting rid of a few other things, but (to my mind) not enough.  We shall see!  Husband is in charge of the move this time.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Laura Corin

[wintermom]

9 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

That is an interesting question.  My husband is behaving as though we don't really need to get rid of furniture; I feel as if the new house will be cluttered if we take everything.  I like things a bit more sparse than he does.

We are losing one bedroom (and disposing of the bed from that room).  We are getting rid of a few other things, but (to my mind) not enough.  We shall see!  Husband is in charge of the move this time.

That's nice you don't have to do a major purge, though I can totally understand you wanting to keep things less cluttered. 

Edited June 27, 2020 by wintermom

[Ali in OR]

31 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

@Ali in OR Cardio ballet ? What is that ? Do you need to know ballet or can people who have no background also do that ? 

 

 

Well, I had never heard of it until today! I think the cardio part just means it's a cardio workout--gets your heart rate going. It's kind of like an aerobics workout, but if you've done ballet you would recognize that a lot of the moves are based on ballet moves, like a nice plie instead of calling it a squat. And doing a bunch of plies over and over in beat to the music. You also get to do nice ballet arms and point your toes sometimes. I don't think you need to know anything about ballet to do it though. Just an aerobics-type workout you can do barefoot in a small space!

[wintermom]

It was a busy, fun day today with great weather. Ds and I did our 'mat madness' and biked to the tennis courts and hit balls around for 30 min. Then I met a friend and we hiked some nice, flat trails. Finally, dh and I played doubles tennis this evening. I should sleep well tonight!

I made masoor dal again. Last time the lentils were perfectly cooked, but the sweet potatoes took forever to soften. This time the sweet potatoes were perfect but the lentils and onions were crunchy. Hopefully it will be just right next time. 😉 

[Laura Corin]

@Dreamergal I suspect that we will both end up storing things in the garage. Few of our neighbours have garages, and we will join them parking on the street.

[Soror]

10 hours ago, wintermom said:

It was a busy, fun day today with great weather. Ds and I did our 'mat madness' and biked to the tennis courts and hit balls around for 30 min. Then I met a friend and we hiked some nice, flat trails. Finally, dh and I played doubles tennis this evening. I should sleep well tonight!

I made masoor dal again. Last time the lentils were perfectly cooked, but the sweet potatoes took forever to soften. This time the sweet potatoes were perfect but the lentils and onions were crunchy. Hopefully it will be just right next time. 😉 

It occured to me I never gave a recipe. I got busy and forgot. I use the NY Times recipe and it worked well. You should sleep well sounds like a nice active day.

15 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@soror Advance Happy Birthday !! Have a great Birthday weekend. I am very impressed by your varied workout.

@Laura Corin  Will DH clutter the garage ? Our garage has become cluttered because of it. 

@wintermom I have been more inspired to try out more biking because of you. Not hiking yet. Thanks for that.

@Ali in OR Cardio ballet ? What is that ? Do you need to know ballet or can people who have no background also do that ? 

My workouts have been elliptical and swimming. Day 2 of swimming today. But finally bought a tagalong bike for DD so we can go biking outside. She was not able to keep up and we could not do that. Now we hook her up to DH and off she goes with him. I am a slow biker. We also bought a stationary bike. More so for the heat. 

Have a good weekend !

I never did a tagalong bike but used a bike trailer for years, it was a great investment. I hope you enjoy biking as a family.

20 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

That is an interesting question.  My husband is behaving as though we don't really need to get rid of furniture; I feel as if the new house will be cluttered if we take everything.  I like things a bit more sparse than he does.

We are losing one bedroom (and disposing of the bed from that room) and we are gaining a proper utility room. All the rooms are a bit smaller and it has a late nineteenth century single car garage/stable rather than the double garage we had before.  We are getting rid of a few other things, but (to my mind) not enough.  We shall see!  Husband is in charge of the move this time.

It is the same at my house. Dh is not nearly as bothered by clutter as I am.

20 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

For barefoot cardio this morning, I did Jessica Smith's Cardio Ballet. Good workout. I'm thinking I should aim for cardio 3 days/week, so maybe barefoot cardio MWF and the bodyweight circuit and yoga on TTH. Lots of plies today, but they're not bothering me as much as when I started. I'm ending a good week eating-wise too. Tracked everyday, met eating goals, no major disasters. Still, this is the week of the month my weight jumps up, so no immediate reward for all that self-control! Hoping it magically jumps down a pound on Monday or Tuesday, but I need to have a clean weekend first.

That sounds like a great plan, hopefully your hard work will mitigate the hormonal jump in weight. Stay strong this weekend!

Edited June 27, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

My day got all messed up again. Just having to drive out to Mom's put me in such a bad mood. Then it was that they were going to go to Mom's in the am and I would have the whole day, then it was the afternoon. By the time I made it home it was 2 pm and I was just annoyed and worn out from 3 days of running. And our date night that was supposed to be for my bday was dh holed up in the basement doing Calculus homework as he had an assignment due. I'm going to stop bitching now as it is upsetting me just thinking about it.

We did finally get a walk in and some time to talk but then I went to bed while he worked on homework some more.

I don't know what I'm doing today, currently working on cleaning the basement while dh sleeps in. Might try to walk or bike, really hoping I feel more energetic and less pissy today. I told dh I'm not driving anywhere all weekend, nope, no way.

breakfast: apple carrot superhero muffins (oil replaced with unsweet applesauce and maple syrup cut - next time I'm going to eliminate sweetener all together and throw in some raisins); spinach smoothie (this breakfast combo has kept me full all week so I am sticking with it); (2 fruit; 2 grain; 2 green; 1 flax; nut)

snack: strawberries and grapes

lunch: chickpea salad or some bean burgers- might make a kale salad or kale chips (depending on what I feel like fixing) (1 bean minimum; veggies; cruciferous veg)

snack: homemade popcorn w/ nut. yeast

dinner: 3 bean veg chili  ( 2 bean; other veg)

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, soror said:

My day got all messed up again. Just having to drive out to Mom's put me in such a bad mood. Then it was that they were going to go to Mom's in the am and I would have the whole day, then it was the afternoon. By the time I made it home it was 2 pm and I was just annoyed and worn out from 3 days of running. And our date night that was supposed to be for my bday was dh holed up in the basement doing Calculus homework as he had an assignment due. I'm going to stop bitching now as it is upsetting me just thinking about it.

We did finally get a walk in and some time to talk but then I went to bed while he worked on homework some more.

I don't know what I'm doing today, currently working on cleaning the basement while dh sleeps in. Might try to walk or bike, really hoping I feel more energetic and less pissy today. I told dh I'm not driving anywhere all weekend, nope, no way.

Sorry your day was messed up with more driving. School assignments (and driving) are so stressful and a huge time suck. I'll be back to that in the fall. Assignments are better than exams, at least. 

Hope you find a nice activity to help you feel better. Have a great birthday!

[wintermom]

Hey, there's nothing on my schedule except family D&D this afternoon! I'll do my 'mat madness' and probably a hike or something outdoors.

@soror  I saw the NYT recipe on-line, but couldn't access it. I winged it using other recipes. 

[Jenny in Florida]

My weight bounced up a little this morning, less than a pound, but since maintenance has always been tough for me and I've been careful watching my food intake and keeping up with exercise all week, it's a little dispiriting. I'm not allowing panic to set it, though.

I've gotten out for my morning 3 miles and met my overall step goal for the day every day this week. Sometimes, that's with another walk or two in the afternoon/evening, sometimes via walk-at-home videos if the weather is uncooperative. I also met my goal of doing some kind of upper body something at least three days. 

My Nordic walking poles arrived, but I haven't managed more than a quick test run with them so far. I don't like the feeling or the sound of using them on pavement, so I am trying to think of a place I can go to use them on soft ground. 

This morning, I packed up the dog and drove to a park about 20 minutes from here with walking trails we haven't previously explored. It was very pretty and shady, and there are some old buildings on the property with informational signs, but I had to do some creative backtracking to make a full 3 miles. 

Tomorrow, I may try to complete my second virtual WDW 5K. I have to walk them, because my knees have made it clear they will not tolerate me attempting to run any significant distance, but my goal is to walk quickly enough to complete the 5K within the time that would be allotted if I did the event in person (about 50 minutes). I missed by a fair bit when I did the first virtual one a couple of weeks ago, but there were some mitigating factors. 

[Matryoshka]

5 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

My weight bounced up a little this morning, less than a pound, but since maintenance has always been tough for me and I've been careful watching my food intake and keeping up with exercise all week, it's a little dispiriting. I'm not allowing panic to set it, though.

I wouldn't panic at all - we've talked about this here - it seems most people's weight fluctuates naturally up and down. I weigh pretty much daily, and mine can fluctuate up to 2 lbs or even a bit more from day to day.  That's actually a reason, for me, to weigh more frequently because once a week I'd not know if it happened to be on an up day or a down day - daily-ish, I know the range and don't worry as long as it isn't a 'new' number.

[barnwife]

I'll count this week as good for exercise. I got in 5 "official" exercise times. Some were a mix of strength and cardio; some were just cardio. I am trying to spend more time stretching at the end than in the past. I definitely prefer to get 6 days in, but...time, weather, pregnancy, life. 

Food has only been okay. I don't really have aversions or cravings this time, but very few things make me say "I want to eat that!" And when something does sound good, I definitely eat until I am stuffed (which, of course, doesn't take much these days). I just don't like that feeling though. 

So...keep aiming for 5 days of exercise a week and work on better portion control while eating more veggies. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Soror]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

Sorry your day was messed up with more driving. School assignments (and driving) are so stressful and a huge time suck. I'll be back to that in the fall. Assignments are better than exams, at least. 

Hope you find a nice activity to help you feel better. Have a great birthday!

Thanks, I'm trying to improve the mood!

1 hour ago, Jenny in Florida said:

My weight bounced up a little this morning, less than a pound, but since maintenance has always been tough for me and I've been careful watching my food intake and keeping up with exercise all week, it's a little dispiriting. I'm not allowing panic to set it, though.

I've gotten out for my morning 3 miles and met my overall step goal for the day every day this week. Sometimes, that's with another walk or two in the afternoon/evening, sometimes via walk-at-home videos if the weather is uncooperative. I also met my goal of doing some kind of upper body something at least three days. 

My Nordic walking poles arrived, but I haven't managed more than a quick test run with them so far. I don't like the feeling or the sound of using them on pavement, so I am trying to think of a place I can go to use them on soft ground. 

This morning, I packed up the dog and drove to a park about 20 minutes from here with walking trails we haven't previously explored. It was very pretty and shady, and there are some old buildings on the property with informational signs, but I had to do some creative backtracking to make a full 3 miles. 

Tomorrow, I may try to complete my second virtual WDW 5K. I have to walk them, because my knees have made it clear they will not tolerate me attempting to run any significant distance, but my goal is to walk quickly enough to complete the 5K within the time that would be allotted if I did the event in person (about 50 minutes). I missed by a fair bit when I did the first virtual one a couple of weeks ago, but there were some mitigating factors. 

Sorry for the weight bounce. It probably is just normal fluctuations- hormones, weight rentention due to soreness or salt intake, the body does what it wants. Good luck on the 5k!

42 minutes ago, barnwife said:

I'll count this week as good for exercise. I got in 5 "official" exercise times. Some were a mix of strength and cardio; some were just cardio. I am trying to spend more time stretching at the end than in the past. I definitely prefer to get 6 days in, but...time, weather, pregnancy, life. 

Food has only been okay. I don't really have aversions or cravings this time, but very few things make me say "I want to eat that!" And when something does sound good, I definitely eat until I am stuffed (which, of course, doesn't take much these days). I just don't like that feeling though. 

So...keep aiming for 5 days of exercise a week and work on better portion control while eating more veggies. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Great job getting in the exercise. Pregnancy makes eating harder, I think your goals are good strive to do better but do what you can.

Edited June 27, 2020 by soror

[Soror]

We finally got our taxes filed!!!! And I got the basement cleaned up (it has been a wreck since we had to move the shed stuff in there but I rearranged it so it is useable with stuff tucked away in corners). I even dusted and vacuumed. I'll have the kids vacuum out the couches and clean the entertainment center. 

Knowing we're starting school and having things disorganized stresses me so I'm suddenly hyper aware of things out of order. I've got 7k steps so far today just with cleaning around the house. Considering a walk or bike ride this afternoon but we'll see. I might just do cleaning and organizing.

[Ali in OR]

1 hour ago, Jenny in Florida said:

My weight bounced up a little this morning, less than a pound, but since maintenance has always been tough for me and I've been careful watching my food intake and keeping up with exercise all week, it's a little dispiriting. I'm not allowing panic to set it, though.

I started graphing my weight a year or so ago (just the weekdays), and it really helped me realize that weight fluctuates daily. For me, there's a natural swing of up or down a pound, and a zig-zag line is completely normal and nothing to worry about. But I can also tell if the whole zig-zaggy line moves up to a new range, like I'm now zig-zagging two pounds higher than I was at the end of Lent (my no-sweets season). So I'm now tracking my food to see if I can get back to my post-Lent range.

I was up early this morning but not for exericise--blueberry season in Oregon is starting! My dh and college kid joined me for picking at the blueberry farm at 6:30am. We have high bush blueberries here in Oregon, and a particular variety called Spartans opened today. They are huge and very popular around here, so the place was packed in a socially distanced way (they opened at 6:00). We picked 57.5 pounds in a little over an hour, $2 per pound. And I'll pick more over the next few weeks to lay in our year's supply. We spend hundreds of dollars on berries in the summer, but it's part of our healthy eating plan for the whole year (blueberries in particular freeze really well). I use 2 cups a week just in my oatmeal. Only 3 of the 5 of us like blueberries, but the 3 of us easily eat 10 lbs/week fresh during blueberry season.

Not sure if I'll get any official exercise in today--maybe a walk, maybe some yoga, maybe just a nap!

Edited June 27, 2020 by Ali in OR

[wintermom]

@Ali in OR I LOVE blueberries! That is wonderful you can pick them fresh and then enjoy them all year. I must eat close to a cup a day for breakfast. I buy frozen in bulk.  I am super impressed with your data collection on daily weight. My weight zig-zags daily as well. I've not quite figured out the pattern, though I do notice that after a heavy exercise day my weight is up, and it tends to goes down on rest days. This drives me a bit crazy, as I expect weight loss immediately with exercise. 

@Jenny in Florida The hike in the woods sounds great! Hope you find a good place to use your Nordic poles. I suggest the Scottish beach near @Laura Corin. 😉 

@barnwife  I think your exercise and eating plans sound perfect!  I remember those days of squished tummy and bladder. Not very comfortable, that's for sure.

@soror  Great job on the taxes and basement cleaning!! Enjoy the rest of your day.

@Matryoshka  How is your rowing machine working out for you? How about rowing out on the water? Are you able to start back at that yet?

[wintermom]

@Dreamergal  Thanks for the recipes! I'm really enjoying exploring Indian and other Asian cooking techniques and ingredients. I've always loved Asian food, but I've also been timid about cooking things myself. I find the teaching videos very helpful.  

Glad you had a nice family bike ride. I used to love using a  tagalong or bike trailer with my gang. Hope you are able to keep going with the swimming. Sorry to hear about the increasing cases in your state. 

[lmrich]

Just checking in after some crazy changes related to college housing... thankful for some good walks with interval running and two strength workouts - one was fun that focused on better posture. Eating has not been good as the stress from the uncertainty has shown up in a second or third glass of wine and some gummy bears.  Oh well, life is going to stay crazy for a bit; I will do the best I can. 

[Soror]

Quick Sunday pop-in I'm keeping busy cleaning and organizing preparing to start school this week. Saw this article and thought I'd share it here so I can look more later, lots of yummy suggestions for lunches--https://greatist.com/eat/mediterranean-recipes-for-lunch#tl-dr

[wintermom]

It was a relaxing day here. I'm playing mixed doubles tennis this evening, and I walked the dog. Otherwise, no formal exercise. I even skipped my push-ups and stuff. First time in 3 months. I just need a break today. It feels great! 

ETA: Sadly, the tennis tonight got rained out. I'm probably going to do my push-ups and stretching just so I don't feel like a lump. 😉

Edited June 28, 2020 by wintermom

[Soror]

11 hours ago, wintermom said:

It was a relaxing day here. I'm playing mixed doubles tennis this evening, and I walked the dog. Otherwise, no formal exercise. I even skipped my push-ups and stuff. First time in 3 months. I just need a break today. It feels great! 

ETA: Sadly, the tennis tonight got rained out. I'm probably going to do my push-ups and stretching just so I don't feel like a lump. 😉

Sorry tennis was rained out 😞 Rest days don't make you a lump!!!

 

On 6/27/2020 at 7:29 PM, lmrich said:

Just checking in after some crazy changes related to college housing... thankful for some good walks with interval running and two strength workouts - one was fun that focused on better posture. Eating has not been good as the stress from the uncertainty has shown up in a second or third glass of wine and some gummy bears.  Oh well, life is going to stay crazy for a bit; I will do the best I can. 

Get in what you can, sorry for the crazyness.

On 6/27/2020 at 3:49 PM, Dreamergal said:

@soror  Sorry about your day but glad to see it improved. Cleaning and organizing also gets calories. Hope you get a walk or a bike ride. As for us, DD refused a trailer. She is 4 and refuses to anything "little kids do". So she wants to bike with us and she was holding us up, so we got a tagalong. We had to wait a bit for it, apparently lots of parents buying for their kids. So far it has worked better than I thought. Her on her own little kid bike was not the same with the rest of us. Enjoy the rest of the day !

@wintermom I have an Indian sweet potato recipe and masoor dhal recipe if you want. The sweet potato can be substituted for potatoes and masoor dhal recipe is a basic one for many dhals. If you want to make the texture a bit finer just use a potato masher or an immersion blender. I use tomatoes and capsicum too in my basic dhal as I want to bulk it up with vegetables always. I usually also add zucchini, squash, spinach (basically any greens, tried it with dandelion was bitter), any type of gourd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOj74Adf14c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0HDRp5PIg

@barnwife Very impressed you have kept out the workouts during so much of your pregnancy especially with kids around. You are so motivating to me when I think I should take a day off. 

@Laura Corin *sigh*  My garage is being turned into a gym. DH is parking his car outside in the driveway and 'my precious' (said in gollum voice)  is parked inside. You are a better woman than me. Hope your move is going better otherwise. I read you culled books, if I lived in the UK I would break quarantine to drive to Scotland to get your books.

@Jenny in Florida I used to get hung up with the numbers because it is very demoralizing when you are trying to do everything right. But I always look at how I feel, for me it is mostly bloat or water retention. It is a marathon, not a sprint cliche as it is so don't lose heart. You are getting your health back and you are working so hard for it. You will see the results you want soon. Please don't try to overdo because we learned it the hard way. DH injured himself and has to go to PT now when we are trying so hard to social distance. It is unavoidable. So be gentle on yourself.  I look for a range, I weigh myself every week.

@Ali in OR Money spent on food is never wasted in my opinion. Food is medicine, I truly believe that. Berries are an important source of elating the rainbow for me so such a wise investment. Super impressed on the data collection.

@Matryoshka I am blaming you for the Nordic poles I placed an order on because you had pictures and @Laura Corin too. I have never, ever rowed anything on land or water, but I am looking at a kayak now. All thanks to you. 🤣

As for me, we went for a bike ride as a family. Good equipment is worth it's weight and for DD with her tagalong bike, it is possible. I am realizing that though our pandemic purchases keep adding up. Day 3 of swimming, one of the absolute happy places for me. The cases keep rising in our state, but so far I have not stopped it. I feel comfortable so far with all the precautions the pool and I are taking. Classes were supposed to start next month, but I think they will postpone. If they do not my precious days of swimming may have to end. But until then I am going to go while thinking of other ways to exercise. Thanks Ladies, nice to have a group like this who get it, I cannot say in words how much you all are motivating. 

Have a great rest of the weekend !!

 

 

 

Good equipment does help, so gald your dd enjoyed her bike.

On 6/27/2020 at 12:35 PM, Ali in OR said:

I started graphing my weight a year or so ago (just the weekdays), and it really helped me realize that weight fluctuates daily. For me, there's a natural swing of up or down a pound, and a zig-zag line is completely normal and nothing to worry about. But I can also tell if the whole zig-zaggy line moves up to a new range, like I'm now zig-zagging two pounds higher than I was at the end of Lent (my no-sweets season). So I'm now tracking my food to see if I can get back to my post-Lent range.

I was up early this morning but not for exericise--blueberry season in Oregon is starting! My dh and college kid joined me for picking at the blueberry farm at 6:30am. We have high bush blueberries here in Oregon, and a particular variety called Spartans opened today. They are huge and very popular around here, so the place was packed in a socially distanced way (they opened at 6:00). We picked 57.5 pounds in a little over an hour, $2 per pound. And I'll pick more over the next few weeks to lay in our year's supply. We spend hundreds of dollars on berries in the summer, but it's part of our healthy eating plan for the whole year (blueberries in particular freeze really well). I use 2 cups a week just in my oatmeal. Only 3 of the 5 of us like blueberries, but the 3 of us easily eat 10 lbs/week fresh during blueberry season.

Not sure if I'll get any official exercise in today--maybe a walk, maybe some yoga, maybe just a nap!

Fresh blueberries, yum!!! We used to have a farm up the road but it has been ages, closest one now is hour+ away. Where do you store so many blueberries? I have a freezer but it is so full with so many things and we use so many different berries I don't freeze them in surplus, a years supplies of all the ones we use we take the whole thing.

[Soror]

I got a ton done around the house this weekend and am feeling much better starting school this week. Yesterday, I went through my clothes and shoes, I managed to find a garbage bag worth to donate. I try to do a seasonal purge but never did one in the spring as we did so many house things I was worn out. We also went through the entry way yesterday. I've sold or given away 4 bookshelves so far and have another still up for sale. The kids are all deep cleaning their room and sorting their things. So, I still want to deep clean and purge the kitchen, great room, and laundry room. The living room is today, will try to do pantry too. I recently organized in the pantry so it isn't bad.

Today's plan- vacuum out couches, thorough dusting and clean windows in great room. Purge game cabinet.

Exercise- strength and ?

Dd and I had a nice short but intense bike ride yesterday and I had a short stroll with dh.

Food has continued on point meeting daily dozen 🙂

breakfast: apple carrot muffins w/ spinach smoothie

lunch: black bean, brown rice, veggie grain salad w/ avocado dressing; black bean brownie

snack: popcorn w/ nut. yeast + kale; 

dinner: TBD (I want to make something special for my bday and haven't picked out a recipe)

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, soror said:

I got a ton done around the house this weekend and am feeling much better starting school this week. Yesterday, I went through my clothes and shoes, I managed to find a garbage bag worth to donate. I try to do a seasonal purge but never did one in the spring as we did so many house things I was worn out. We also went through the entry way yesterday. I've sold or given away 4 bookshelves so far and have another still up for sale. The kids are all deep cleaning their room and sorting their things. So, I still want to deep clean and purge the kitchen, great room, and laundry room. The living room is today, will try to do pantry too. I recently organized in the pantry so it isn't bad.

Today's plan- vacuum out couches, thorough dusting and clean windows in great room. Purge game cabinet.

Exercise- strength and ?

Dd and I had a nice short but intense bike ride yesterday and I had a short stroll with dh.

Food has continued on point meeting daily dozen 🙂

breakfast: apple carrot muffins w/ spinach smoothie

lunch: black bean, brown rice, veggie grain salad w/ avocado dressing; black bean brownie

snack: popcorn w/ nut. yeast + kale; 

dinner: TBD (I want to make something special for my bday and haven't picked out a recipe)

Hope you find a great birthday meal! Great job with all the cleaning and purging. Your bike ride and walk with family members sounds nice. 

All the best with the rest of the deep cleaning.  And as always, your food sounds very interesting and delicious!

[wintermom]

After a relaxing weekend, I'm ready to jump back into action with ds and my Summer Physical Training. I also have a ladies doubles tennis match scheduled for later this afternoon. 

I made the masoor dal again. Everything was perfect except the lentils were partly crunchy. I prefer them soft, but perhaps people like them on the crunchy side. According the to video, they should have been cooked enough. 

[Ali in OR]

5 hours ago, soror said:

Fresh blueberries, yum!!! We used to have a farm up the road but it has been ages, closest one now is hour+ away. Where do you store so many blueberries? I have a freezer but it is so full with so many things and we use so many different berries I don't freeze them in surplus, a years supplies of all the ones we use we take the whole thing.

By the end of summer, our small chest freezer in the garage is probably 2/3 blueberries, 1/3 meat. Blueberries grow really well in our area, and there are lots of people like us who will try to put up a year's worth of our delicious berries. We do use Costco for other frozen berries through the year. With the garage freezer full at summer's end, any grocery store frozen stuff has to fit in the kitchen freezer. I wasn't expecting to start the bulk berry picking quite so early (drove by the farm Friday and found out Spartans were opening Saturday--dh and dd love Spartans best, so they were up for early morning picking which tripled our volume). I froze 22 quart bags of berries from this batch, which is about 38 pounds, and both freezers are full to the top. I think last year I froze 40 quart bags total (still have about 6), so there will be more picking, but not this week! Need to eat down the fudge bars first.

Well, no glorious weight drop today. I'm a pound less than last Monday, but I would expect that anyway for cycle ending. Still hoping to end June strong. I did a new barefoot cardio video today--I think it was called fat burning barefoot cardio. I'll stick with this one Wednesday and Friday too and see if I can get better at it. There was a section of plies that I couldn't complete because my legs gave out on me and then there were some moves where I could not get the arms coordinated with the legs right. I'm just finishing my Monday Mocha, then I'll get some pork tenderloin going in the crockpot for pork carnitas tonight. I don't think anyone else in the family likes pork carnitas quite as much as I do, but it's good food that helps me hit my numbers. Yum!

Have a good week everyone.

[wintermom]

4 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I am sorry, no, lentils should not be on the crunchy side, they have to be soft. Did you soak them before ? I usually wash and soak them for an hour before. More than time I test for the texture. Use an wooden spoon, take a small sample and test for texture. They should be squeezable and fall apart even if maintain their shape. That is when they are done. If you want them softer, cook some more. I would err on the side of soaking more and cooking more. 

Thanks. The video said 30 min, which I did, but the lentils I have definitely need to soak longer.

[Laura Corin]

Quick drop in. Managing the short walk and short yoga each day. A success for yoga strength: today my son and I had to carry a table downstairs, including lifting it over our heads to clear the banister and newel post. It wasn't easy, but it was fine. The charity furniture pick up is only collecting from garages at present, not houses, so we had to shift it ourselves 

The house sale is close to irrevocable now. We toasted it this evening. Still waiting on the same for the purchase. Best wishes to all.

[Matryoshka]

8 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Thanks. The video said 30 min, which I did, but the lentils I have definitely need to soak longer.

I never soak lentils, but I also just cook 'em for however long it takes them to get fairly mushy - I usually just eyeball them.  I like mushy lentils.  Crunchy lentils would bother me!

[Laura Corin]

10 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

I never soak lentils, but I also just cook 'em for however long it takes them to get fairly mushy - I usually just eyeball them.  I like mushy lentils.  Crunchy lentils would bother me!

I never used to soak them but my favourite cook at present, Rupy Aujla, does, so I've started.

I believe that pulses that have been on the shelf longer cook more slowly.

[Matryoshka]

Took Saturday off, but had good workouts Friday and Sunday.  I am liking having the rowing machine to add a bit of length to a workout (I usually try to work out for an hour, and sometimes the workouts they've been sending lately are shorter), to do as a warm-up instead of the 'dynamic exercises' they suggest (I always warm up on the rower at the gym) or to hop on when I'm feeling unmotivated or when it's raining, like today.  We're having a rainy week, so the Nordic poles haven't gotten as much use. Haven't worked out today yet, but want to before dinner.  I think I'll do today's corporate OT one, which is only about 40 min, but I'll add some rowing in.

@Ali in OR, speaking of blueberries, we just put netting on our bushes yesterday - ours are still green.  I'm not sure if it will be completely bird-proof; we just kind of draped it, but it's got to be better than nothing.  Don't think we'll manage as many berries as you do!  I'm wondering if I should put netting on the raspberry bushes, which are wild but plentiful.  Usually the birds get them...  I also have wild blackberries but they tend to plant themselves in the most awkward places and I usually have to pull them up.  And we just killed a Concord grape vine that was trying to strangle one of the blueberry bushes...!

I think @wintermom asked me about rowing on the water - looks like it's going to be a bust for this year - apparently our club isn't even going to be allowed access to the boathouse. 😢

@Dreamergal good luck with the kayak - I'm hoping I may also be able to try that.  It's not rowing, but paddling, but at least it's on the water.  I gave my brother $ for his birthday toward a 2nd kayak in the hopes that we can go together this summer. Each in our own kayak counts as distancing!  I've got to nag him to see if he's actually going to get it...  I've paddled in a canoe, but never a kayak.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Matryoshka

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

I think @wintermom asked me about rowing on the water - looks like it's going to be a bust for this year - apparently our club isn't even going to be allowed access to the boathouse. 😢

Oh, boo. That is so sad. Hope you manage to get out paddling on the water somehow. I feel for you. There is nothing as exhilarating as being out on water and enjoying the wind, spray, sun, and, for you, rowing buddies. I still have a dream to own a kayak one day. It just hasn't worked out yet. Maybe one day...

Edited June 29, 2020 by wintermom

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@soror Hope you find a great birthday meal. I want to learn about the app you talked about in another thread, the daily 12 or something ? 

@Ali in OR I am also stocking up on berries. It is one of the best foods. Stocking less on meat. I think you will end your June strong.

My glorious month of swimming came to an yesterday. 😔. I swim in the safest possible way, but cases are fast rising in my state and I could not justify that when we are social distancing so much. I had a bit of breakdown in the car by myself. Then felt guilty for doing so. But I have promised myself I will feel everything during this time and not push down any emotion, so I felt better. I feel grateful today for having that unexpected month which gave me so much joy, a sense of accomplishment that I could  lap swim an hour in the big pool when I spent years in the kiddie pool as an adult. One of the reasons I do not want to give up fitness during the pandemic is more than it's benefits is to model fitness as a lifestyle for my children in any environment. It was never modeled for me, I had to give it up because I was a girl during puberty so I had to fight hard for so many things as an adult and I never wanted that for my kids. I want them to know the joy of doing an exercise you love even if you are not good at it, not giving up even if you lose it, constantly reinventing and also fitness as a family. Years later when my children look back on this time, I hope they remember how they played with their parents outside, the fun we had as a family and will keep fitness as a goal throughout their life. I also talk about "my friends on the homeschool board" who show me how to do things and what I learn from them. So thank you. 

Oh bummer. That's too bad. Life is full of really tough decisions sometimes. We make sacrifices for good reasons. I really hope you are able to get back to swimming soon. Hope the covid cases improve for everyone's sake. 

[wintermom]

I didn't get to play tennis today, but ds and I went on a really fun mountain bike ride on some challenging trails. I also hit a new record of 40 push-ups non-stop. 

I bought a set of swim mask, snorkel and flippers from Costco. We're going to a river on Wednesday for Canada Day (July 1st), and I'd like to swim with the snorkel set. It looks like the local outdoor pools are preparing to open soon. I may do some lap swimming if the set up seems reasonable. Our local covid numbers are quite low.

[Soror]

13 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

@soror Hope you find a great birthday meal. I want to learn about the app you talked about in another thread, the daily 12 or something ? 

@Ali in OR I am also stocking up on berries. It is one of the best foods. Stocking less on meat. I think you will end your June strong.

My glorious month of swimming came to an yesterday. 😔. I swim in the safest possible way, but cases are fast rising in my state and I could not justify that when we are social distancing so much. I had a bit of breakdown in the car by myself. Then felt guilty for doing so. But I have promised myself I will feel everything during this time and not push down any emotion, so I felt better. I feel grateful today for having that unexpected month which gave me so much joy, a sense of accomplishment that I could  lap swim an hour in the big pool when I spent years in the kiddie pool as an adult. One of the reasons I do not want to give up fitness during the pandemic is more than it's benefits is to model fitness as a lifestyle for my children in any environment. It was never modeled for me, I had to give it up because I was a girl during puberty so I had to fight hard for so many things as an adult and I never wanted that for my kids. I want them to know the joy of doing an exercise you love even if you are not good at it, not giving up even if you lose it, constantly reinventing and also fitness as a family. Years later when my children look back on this time, I hope they remember how they played with their parents outside, the fun we had as a family and will keep fitness as a goal throughout their life. I also talk about "my friends on the homeschool board" who show me how to do things and what I learn from them. So thank you. 

I'm so very sorry, that is a huge disappointment. I am certain your children will look back on fondness with this time.

14 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Quick drop in. Managing the short walk and short yoga each day. A success for yoga strength: today my son and I had to carry a table downstairs, including lifting it over our heads to clear the banister and newel post. It wasn't easy, but it was fine. The charity furniture pick up is only collecting from garages at present, not houses, so we had to shift it ourselves 

The house sale is close to irrevocable now. We toasted it this evening. Still waiting on the same for the purchase. Best wishes to all.

Many congratulations on the house sale! Kudos to you on the strength gain!

19 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

By the end of summer, our small chest freezer in the garage is probably 2/3 blueberries, 1/3 meat. Blueberries grow really well in our area, and there are lots of people like us who will try to put up a year's worth of our delicious berries. We do use Costco for other frozen berries through the year. With the garage freezer full at summer's end, any grocery store frozen stuff has to fit in the kitchen freezer. I wasn't expecting to start the bulk berry picking quite so early (drove by the farm Friday and found out Spartans were opening Saturday--dh and dd love Spartans best, so they were up for early morning picking which tripled our volume). I froze 22 quart bags of berries from this batch, which is about 38 pounds, and both freezers are full to the top. I think last year I froze 40 quart bags total (still have about 6), so there will be more picking, but not this week! Need to eat down the fudge bars first.

Well, no glorious weight drop today. I'm a pound less than last Monday, but I would expect that anyway for cycle ending. Still hoping to end June strong. I did a new barefoot cardio video today--I think it was called fat burning barefoot cardio. I'll stick with this one Wednesday and Friday too and see if I can get better at it. There was a section of plies that I couldn't complete because my legs gave out on me and then there were some moves where I could not get the arms coordinated with the legs right. I'm just finishing my Monday Mocha, then I'll get some pork tenderloin going in the crockpot for pork carnitas tonight. I don't think anyone else in the family likes pork carnitas quite as much as I do, but it's good food that helps me hit my numbers. Yum!

Have a good week everyone.

We are a bit south for blueberries. I have a freezer but it has a hodge podge of different things. 1 pound loss is 1 pound loss, that is great.

11 hours ago, wintermom said:

I didn't get to play tennis today, but ds and I went on a really fun mountain bike ride on some challenging trails. I also hit a new record of 40 push-ups non-stop. 

I bought a set of swim mask, snorkel and flippers from Costco. We're going to a river on Wednesday for Canada Day (July 1st), and I'd like to swim with the snorkel set. It looks like the local outdoor pools are preparing to open soon. I may do some lap swimming if the set up seems reasonable. Our local covid numbers are quite low.

Congrats on the push-ups. Glad to hear you had fun biking.

[Soror]

I got up yesterday at 4:45 and kept busy teaching and then working around the house until noon. After lunch I relaxed for the afternoon and enjoyed my lunch and blackbean brownies. I played games with the girls in the evening and helped dd a bit with supper.

Dd made baked eggplant for dinner and I had that with a simple kale salad.

We  rearranged the great room, cleaned the windows (7), pulled everything out and dusted, vacuumed the furniture, washed the cushion covers to the furniture (gotta love IKEA furniture), swept, mopped, and decluttered. I did not sleep well last night, dh and I had a little tiff over a misunderstanding so by the time we sorted that it was a bit after 9, about an hour after my usual bed time- then storms woke me up. I've been awake since 3:45 today. I laid there until nearly 5 and gave up and started in on the laundry room before teaching. I've just got to mop it now, then it is - cleaning out some kitchen cabinets, wiping the exterior of the cabinets, ironing the armrest covers, and the rest of the upstairs windows (4). I aim to have it done by lunch as I'm certain I'll be ready for a nap then with waking up so early.

Yesterday I took a shortish walk and did a short strength session, today's plan is just yoga and cleaning. Will aim for a walk this evening.

I've got to get the menu done, I honestly forget to yesterday

breakfast: apple carrot muffins: smoothie

lunch: blackbean/rice/veggie(throwing in some shredded cabbage for cruciferous) +avocado dressing

snack: blackbean brownies 

dinner:?  maybe stir fry??

Edited June 30, 2020 by soror

[EmilyGF]

17 minutes ago, soror said:

 .

We  rearranged the great room, cleaned the windows (7), pulled everything out and dusted, vacuumed the furniture, washed the cushion covers to the furniture (gotta love IKEA furniture), swept, mopped, and decluttered. I did not sleep well last night, dh and I had a little tiff over a misunderstanding so by the time we sorted that it was a bit after 9, about an hour after my usual bed time- then storms woke me up. I've been awake since 3:45 today. I laid there until nearly 5 and gave up and started in on the laundry room before teaching. I've just got to mop it now, then it is - cleaning out some kitchen cabinets, wiping the exterior of the cabinets, ironing the armrest covers, and the rest of the upstairs windows (4). I aim to have it done by lunch as I'm certain I'll be ready for a nap then with waking up so early.

 

sigh - that's frustrating. I've been focusing on sleep for the past few weeks since it usually takes me 90 minutes or more to fall asleep and I frequently wake up in the middle of the night. I learned that sleep experts say you should get up if you can't sleep for more than 20 minutes and then read or something else without blue light until you find yourself nodding off again. Otherwise, you start thinking of bed as "the place I can't sleep." I was certainly having that problem and making this change for the last two and a half weeks has already made a huge difference for me.

----------

I did Zumba Strong yesterday (not what I was expecting) and normal Zumba today. It feels so good to sweat so much before breakfast. Yesterday, I tried sauteeing cabbage and then adding two eggs to it for lunch. Even DH liked it.

I am experimenting with beans more. There must be some way to feed my kids that doesn't cost $$$. 🙂 Everyone except DH likes beans, and even he will eat them without complaining. The kids often gush. I usually have the kids make their own lunches, but today I'm going to supplement their lunches with sauteed white beans. 

Snack: morning: apples w/ peanut butter, afternoon: popcorn w/ nutritional yeast or maybe a brownie ds8 made

lunch: sauteed cabbage, egg, and something starchy

dinner: red lentil curry with rice (yay for my instant pot being back!!!)

[lynn]

Good morning.  Through most of June I did most of a beach body, Shaun t, 60day dig deeper.  I got to day 40 and an old back issue started up so I'm back to doing body beast, weight lifting seems to be better than the hiit.  Those that are familiar with beach body I found a hybrid of The Work/Body Beast.   I am still fasting most days and working on cutting down on grains and sugars which is much harder than working out.

Hope everyone is doing well.

[wintermom]

@soror  Great job with all the cleaning! Very impressive. Sorry your sleep isn't great. Hope you sleep well tonight. Enjoy your yoga!

@EmilyGF  Glad you're enjoying the Zumba and getting in a work-out before breakfast. It is satisfying to accomplish something positive first thing in the morning. 

 

[Ali in OR]

Finished 2 sets of my bodyweight circuit then did 2 Foundations of Yoga videos--Tree Pose and Staff Pose. I can't do Staff Pose very well--just feels like the muscles up the back of my legs are too short to sit at 90° with legs straight out in front. Need to work on that. I had another pound off on the scale this morning which is what I was hoping to see yesterday--maybe it was just a day late. Or maybe it's not really real yet. I do expect tomorrow will zig zag up a little, but hopefully not too much.

Thinking about some goals for July. Do you all set goals for yourselves?

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, Ali in OR said:

Finished 2 sets of my bodyweight circuit then did 2 Foundations of Yoga videos--Tree Pose and Staff Pose. I can't do Staff Pose very well--just feels like the muscles up the back of my legs are too short to sit at 90° with legs straight out in front. Need to work on that. I had another pound off on the scale this morning which is what I was hoping to see yesterday--maybe it was just a day late. Or maybe it's not really real yet. I do expect tomorrow will zig zag up a little, but hopefully not too much.

Thinking about some goals for July. Do you all set goals for yourselves?

Great job with the exercises!  The hamstring muscles run along the back of the thighs. These are notorious for being tight if you aren't naturally extra flexible and you haven't spent much time working on flexibility in this area. You can gradually build up flexibility here, though. You may need to slightly bend your legs at first as you increase your flexibility over time. It's worth it to increase flexibility here, though. Helps a lot with bending over to pick up things, tie your shoes, garden, etc. 

[IvyInFlorida]

Hi everybody!  Just a quick check in.  I'm happy to report that I've been swimming lately and it is SUCH great pregnancy exercise for me.  Even though I'm only 18 weeks, my lower back is already starting to ache and swimming loosens it up wonderfully.  I've also been getting walks in more regularly, eating well/almost like normal, and staying hydrated.  Since I still get woozy and nauseous if I overexert myself or get too hot, swimming and early morning walking is about as good as it's gonna get.

I've definitely got a baby bump now!  I think I'm turning out to be one of those who gains weight all over, unfortunately, but so far it hasn't been too bad, I don't think.  I am able to satisfy any unhealthy cravings with healthy substitutes, usually.  One of the many positives of living in the country--you can't just run over to Five Guys and grab a burger and a big bag of fries no matter how much you're craving it! 

This week my husband painted the carport walls where my workout area is and everything looks great out there!  I can't wait to get back to working out seriously after I recover from having the baby.

[Jenny in Florida]

On 6/23/2020 at 10:56 AM, wintermom said:

 

  Hope you and your dh enjoy biking together. I've heard several friends say that finding the right bike for them makes the activity really enjoyable.

 

Ummm, well, I may have spoken too soon about that. It seems like we got a new TV/sound system, instead. 

I made the mistake of joking that, if only I could have a dedicated exercise room and a home theatre, I might never need to leave the house at all. 

My husband heard "home theatre" and decided that gave him an excuse to go buy stuff. So, his solution for weekend boredom was to watch movies on the new TV. It's enjoyable, but doesn't help a lot with my goal of trying to get him to spend more time outside of his recliner.

On 6/27/2020 at 11:59 AM, Matryoshka said:

I wouldn't panic at all - we've talked about this here - it seems most people's weight fluctuates naturally up and down. I weigh pretty much daily, and mine can fluctuate up to 2 lbs or even a bit more from day to day.  That's actually a reason, for me, to weigh more frequently because once a week I'd not know if it happened to be on an up day or a down day - daily-ish, I know the range and don't worry as long as it isn't a 'new' number.

 

And thank you to @Matryoshka and everyone else who chimed in with reassurance.  In theory, I know that weight fluctuations are normal. In theory, I am supposed to be aiming at keeping myself within a five-pound range. However, after a lifetime of fighting my weight and repeatedly losing, I am not good at being chill about it. 

Anyway, I've done well for the last few days. My weight did drift back down over the next couple of days, which was nice. I did a big grocery order on Saturday, including a bunch of salad fixings, and we've been enjoying big salads regularly for either lunch or dinner. I did not do the virtual 5K over the weekend, but I did do an extra-long walk (4 miles, instead of my usual 3-ish) on Sunday and have exceeded my step goal by a satisfying amount every day for the last week or so. I'm considering increasing my goal again, since I don't seem to be having any trouble meeting the current one. 

As of my walk this evening, I am 80% done with my virtual walk of Hadrian's Wall. Starting to look around for another, similar challenge.

 

[SKL]

Well, I got through June without missing a day of walking, which is pretty good considering how my June work schedule always is.

I am so bloated right now though.  Ugh.  I have started to eat more fruits/veggies, but I am still eating too much of the bad stuff.  Now that my mega work deadlines are mostly past, I hope I can do better.

I was thinking of maybe weighing myself about now, but with the bloating, I think I'll pass.

I am a little closer to my black belt.  I've been back to TKD classes for a few weeks (only 1x per week so far).  I want to increase the frequency as there's another mini belt test coming up.

[Soror]

 

July thread-