December Well-Trained Bodies

[FarmingMomma]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

Hope you can get out for a ski! 

Well I tried, but it was actually too warm so the snow was really soft. It's supposed to be rather warm this week, but I'm sure our colder temperatures will be back soon enough!

[Ali in OR]

@SororI hope you get some answers and a plan to get you back to full health.

[Laura Corin]

4 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Still figuring out my Apple Watch and I'm deciding I'm not going to be a "close the rings" person. You're supposed to do a certain amount of movement, 30 min of exercise, and stand at some point during 12 hours of the day. I'm fine on movement and standing, but it won't track the kind of exercise I do--I got 20 min credit for yesterday's 32 min walking video and only 4 min credit for today's bodyweight circuit x2 and then a fairly active 20 min yoga. That meets my personal exercise goal but not my watch's goal. I'm blaming male programmers; there is more to the exercise world than running!

Sounds similar to my problem.   I plan to wear my old fitbit tomorrow alongside,  as well as taking my pulse manually,  as I  think something is up with how my Garmin is - not - registering exercise. 

[FarmingMomma]

Day 34/80: cardio core

@Soror I hope you get some useful info from the ultrasound

 

[Soror]

My gall bladder shows ok, phew. So, even if it is causing some pains and upset stomach it is not something that I'll have to worry about.

My thyroid is low, I'm guessing that is causing the fatigue and sleep issues. I have a consult next week with my dr, and see where they want to put my dose at. Once I get my dose upped I'll start feeling some better pretty soon and if the dose is where it needs to be I should be feeling pretty good in a month or so. 

[PinkTulip]

Just popping in to check in: This week I met my goal of rowing 1 million meters in 2020. Due to indulging on treats over the holiday, I don’t think I’m going to meet my goal of 20 pounds in 2020, but I am very close. I am down 17 since June, and have been able to change my habits regarding food and regular exercise. I’m going to just keep going - try to row at least 100,000 meters per month, and be sensible with my eating. I have learned over the years that attempting a restrictive diet has the opposite effect on me and makes me want to eat the thing I shouldn’t, and I end up gaining weight. Now I aim for healthy and balanced food, with an occasional treat without guilt. It seems to be working for me finally after wanting to lose weight for nearly 10 years. 

[Laura Corin]

@PinkTulip well done for reaching your goal!

@Soror I'm glad you are starting to get answers.

@Ali in OR I find I can't stay up late these days either. It's very rare that I manage to sleep late in the morning.

@FarmingMomma I'm sure I'm not fit enough for it but I've always fancied cross country skiing.  Not enough snow around here. Have fun!

@Jenny in Florida I  actually think it's healthy to let loose a bit on food and exercise during festivals - reducing worry about precisely how we eat and move is part of the joy. And most animals live with high and low seasons for food and activity. 

@Dreamergal I wonder about resistance and immunity too. In this colder climate, the cool air can't hold much moisture,  so we are running a humidifier at night, to give our airways the best chance to manage infection.

It's been a pleasure getting to know you this year.

@wintermom I  am charmed by your instant skating rinks. I'm not a skater, but I  might be in your situation. 

I am starting to take modules in the evening degree programme of the university where I work. It's just for fun - my education was narrow so I'd like to broaden it. I'm a bit bored at work too but don't fancy taking on more responsibility.  The first module is a first year English introduction,  but I hope to move on to psychology and history later.

Today - NW on the beach wearing two activity trackers! Garmin is now giving my fitness age as 36, which is surprising. Yoga later - Kassandra seems very keen on Half Moon, which is a good workout for my core and balance. A Passage to India studied in the meantime. 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Laura Corin

[wintermom]

20 hours ago, FarmingMomma said:

Well I tried, but it was actually too warm so the snow was really soft. It's supposed to be rather warm this week, but I'm sure our colder temperatures will be back soon enough!

I've had the same issues with winter activities; either too little snow or too warm. And yes, colder temps will definitely be back - for better and worse. 😉 

[wintermom]

5 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

 

@wintermom I  am charmed by your instant skating rinks. I'm not a skater, but I  might be in your situation. 

I am starting to take modules in the evening degree programme of the university where I work. It's just for fun - my education was narrow so I'd like to broaden it. I'm a bit bored at work too but don't fancy taking on more responsibility.  The first module is a first year English introduction,  but I hope to move on to psychology and history later.

Today - NW on the beach wearing two activity trackers! Garmin is now giving my fitness age as 36, which is surprising. Yoga later - Kassandra seems very keen on Half Moon, which is a good workout for my core and balance. A Passage to India studied in the meantime. 

Another ice activity that's VERY popular here in Canada that originated in Scotland is curling. I don't curl myself, but know tons of people who do. Sadly this winter the curling rinks are all closed because of covid. Do you know of any curling rinks in Scotland? I don't know if the activity was ever popular in Scotland in modern times.

Your course sounds like a great idea. Enjoy the mind exercise! 😉

[Soror]

I've done such a horrible job keeping up lately but enjoyed reading everyone's updates.

Crossing my fingers I'll be feeling better soon and can get more active again. 

I'm getting food intake back to normal. I had planned some indulgences on NYE but now I'm reconsidering, I think I'll splurge for healthy indulgences instead. Although, I agree with @Laura Corin some holiday treats are fine and good. The problem these days is that such treats are so easy to access and we can get in the pattern of extended celebrations, so it isn't a meal or day of treats but weeks.

I'll be aiming closer to Mediterranean in the interest of my liver, although it seems more likely to be related to my thyroid.

 

[Laura Corin]

11 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Another ice activity that's VERY popular here in Canada that originated in Scotland is curling. I don't curl myself, but know tons of people who do. Sadly this winter the curling rinks are all closed because of covid. Do you know of any curling rinks in Scotland? I don't know if the activity was ever popular in Scotland in modern times.

Your course sounds like a great idea. Enjoy the mind exercise! 😉

Yes, curling is popular, but maybe more with older people - I'm not sure. Outdoor curling doesn't happen much here in southern Scotland,  although there is a street called Curling Pond Road in  my village, so it must have happened at one point

3 minutes ago, Soror said:

 Although, I agree with @Laura Corin some holiday treats are fine and good. The problem these days is that such treats are so easy to access and we can get in the pattern of extended celebrations, so it isn't a meal or day of treats but weeks.

I'll be aiming closer to Mediterranean in the interest of my liver, although it seems more likely to be related to my thyroid.

 

Even when I was a child, there were weekend treats and normal food. We only ever had fizzy drinks or ice cream on Sundays. Cakes were only for birthdays. I worked in a bakery as a teenager, and people would buy bread every day, but would choose cakes or other sweet goods for a special occasion. 

Mediterranean sounds good. 

[wintermom]

1 minute ago, Laura Corin said:

Yes, curling is popular, but maybe more with older people - I'm not sure. Outdoor curling doesn't happen much here in southern Scotland,  although there is a street called Curling Pond Road in  my village, so it must have happened at one point

 

That's neat. Outdoor curling is not a thing at all here. The ice has to be prepped very specifically, and that's not possible with outdoor rinks. It's all indoor. Curling has become more popular with younger people because of the Winter Olympics, where it is now seen more as a sport than a pass time you do while drinking and smoking. I was shocked at my first visit to a curling rink years ago and saw the ash trays along with sides of the curling areas. Oh well, apparently ice hockey players used to smoke on the bench between their shifts. Thankfully things have changed a lot in most places. 

[Ali in OR]

I did a walking workout and my watch gives me a little more credit for that than it does for the bodyweight+yoga workout--20 min of watch exercise for a 30 min workout. I did the grocery store yesterday--will do Costco today, plus a few other chores that I keep putting off.

[Laura Corin]

20 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

I did a walking workout and my watch gives me a little more credit for that than it does for the bodyweight+yoga workout--20 min of watch exercise for a 30 min workout. I did the grocery store yesterday--will do Costco today, plus a few other chores that I keep putting off.

My Garmin gave me credit for a full-speed Nordic walk today - average heart rate 157bpm, 14-minute miles. I don't think I should have to push that hard to get credit. I  suspect that the heart rate zone formula, which is based on 220 minus your age, doesn't work well for a low resting heart rate. To reach my supposed zones is a really big leap from my norm. Or that's what I  have decided to believe. So I've shifted the zones manually and we'll see how that goes.

[wintermom]

It's cold enough for skating again today, so I'm going to check out a different pond/lake. I may drag a dc with me.

We just bought a used ice hockey table to keep the family entertained and hopefully off computers/devices a little. It's pretty fun!

[FarmingMomma]

Day 35/80: total body core.  One of our bulls is missing, so after lunch my hubby and I are going to take our snowshoes to go try to find him.  Ought to be a heck of a good workout. Hopefully he is just off hiding and not injured or worse.

 

[wintermom]

Skating on the pond was great and my ds 18 joined me. I just returned from a walk in the neighbourhood and noticed that skiing on the local golf course will be possible. So dd and I will head out for a little night ski in a bit. Should be fun to get out on skis for the first time this winter! 🙂

[wintermom]

3 hours ago, FarmingMomma said:

Day 35/80: total body core.  One of our bulls is missing, so after lunch my hubby and I are going to take our snowshoes to go try to find him.  Ought to be a heck of a good workout. Hopefully he is just off hiding and not injured or worse.

 

Hope you find him and he's alright. How many bulls do you have? Are they very old and huge?

[FarmingMomma]

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

Hope you find him and he's alright. How many bulls do you have? Are they very old and huge?

We found him dead, unfortunately.  Not sure what happened, but he was one of the older bulls.  We had 13, sold 2 this fall that were becoming real jerks, and now we lost this one, so we have 10. We'll buy more in the spring.

Only did a mile of snowshoeing, so I also took the dogs for a long walk this evening.

[wintermom]

9 minutes ago, FarmingMomma said:

We found him dead, unfortunately.  Not sure what happened, but he was one of the older bulls.  We had 13, sold 2 this fall that were becoming real jerks, and now we lost this one, so we have 10. We'll buy more in the spring.

Only did a mile of snowshoeing, so I also took the dogs for a long walk this evening.

So sorry about the death of your bull. That's a shock. 

[wintermom]

The short ski on the golf course last night with dd was really fun. There was just enough snow to keep gliding over the grass. The really short grass was better. 😉 

I went for a solo skate early this morning. It was still cold enough so the ice was firm. My legs were pretty tired from the skating and skiing yesterday. I'm also going for a walk with a friend later this morning. 

We have no big plans for NYE tonight. Probably play some table hockey, a few board games and watch TV. I go for a walk every evening, so I'll do that, too.

[Ali in OR]

I did another walking video this morning--got credit for 22 minutes for this one. My plans today involve some house cleaning, maybe begin to remove some Christmas decorations, get some black bean soup going in the crockpot, and finish my last book of 2020 (~30 pages left).

[Jenny in Florida]

Figured I'd check in with a wrap-up for this month.

My goals for this month were:

• Keep going with the existing routine of daily walks and stationary biking plus 3X weekly cardio and 2X weekly PT. 
  Did pretty well with this one. I did miss or short-change a few days in the thick of the holiday season, but I'd give myself a solid A- for this category.
• Continue increasing minimum daily step count.
  I think I bumped my minimum goal only once this month, by only 500 steps per day. Again, I'm blaming the holidays, but there were three days when I got stuck doing things in the house and couldn't make that minimum. My rule is that I don't increase the goal on my Fitbit until I have met the current goal consistently every day for two weeks. Maybe a C+ here?
• Add daily weight exercises recommended by orthopedist.
  Hit or miss on doing the exact exercises on the printout. However, I did complete a 12 Days of Fitmas challenge, which included 20-minute videos for each day incorporating weights. I'm counting it for partial credit: B-.
• Log at least 3K of intentional, outdoor walking for the Run Across American Holiday Hustle.
  Nailed this one. In fact, I've more than doubled the original goal of 50K and am closing out the month with about 125K: A+.
• Complete Holiday Hustle mini-challenges as they are posted.
  I have one more to complete, the 7K Kwanzaa Quest, which I hope to do this evening. Giving myself full credit for this one, too: A.
• Finish stationary biking the virtual Camino de Santiago.
  Not so great on this one. I've been having trouble with my knees since I started using the stationary bike and was just this week diagnosed with arthritis in both knees. I was already behind schedule and have now been ordered to stay off the bike for at least a week. This goal will have to carry over into January. Can I give myself an incomplete?
• Remember to stretch after walking/biking to see if that relieves any of the stiffness/soreness I've been feeling in my legs.
  I did this sometimes, but, as I mentioned above, the soreness and stiffness didn't really get any better. I'm going with a C+ here.

I also had goals for food and weight:

• Get back to consistently logging everything.
  Nope. I did it for about a week at the beginning of the month, then fell off the wagon and started again just this past Monday. Definitely no more than a D on this one.
• Get weight back down to 132.
  Ha. I managed to gain yet more: F.

Finally, I was supposed to follow up on referrals for new neurologist and cardiologist because we are changing insurance plans on 1/1. I decided to prioritize the neurologist, and I tried, really, but the folks at Cigna who are supposed to be managing this for me have not been terrifically helpful. Once, after a long silence, they called to apologize for dropping the ball and promised to get back on it. They called again three days later to let me know they were trying but hadn't found the neurologists they contacted to be especially responsive. (No kidding.) That was about a week ago, and I haven't heard anything since. It's on my list to poke them next week once I officially click over to the new plan. 
I'm going to give myself a C for this one, since I put in actual effort but didn't meet the goal.

So, I think I'm ending the month with a C+ average. Here's hoping I do better in January.

Edited December 31, 2020 by Jenny in Florida

[Ali in OR]

On 12/1/2020 at 11:19 AM, Ali in OR said:

December Goals: the biggie is to MAINTAIN. Keep up the exercise 6 days a week. Don't gain back any weight (this will be hard the two weeks I'm off of school and able to eat all day). I think I want to try 20 in 20 again, but maybe more yoga after school instead of walking after school. I mean, either is okay, but I might be more willing and able to fit some yoga into my schedule, and I don't have to leave the house.

December is hard. I maintained exercise, did not maintain weight and I'm up 3 lbs. Guess what one of my January goals will be? Did not do 20 in 20--just way to busy. New goals tomorrow.

[FarmingMomma]

Day 36/80: leg day, one of my favorites!

[SKL]

Hi guys!  It wasn't easy, but I finished December with an average of 4 miles per day of walking.  The final hours had me walking on a treadmill while listening to 2 podcast trainings [simultaneously] about law (to finish my biennial training requirement).

If I get time for it, I might add up all the walking I did in 2020, which was roughly about 1,000 miles, I think.  I would have to re-charge my old, broken phone to get the [rough] data for the first half of the year.

I recently discovered that my phone health app has been cheating me out of some miles.  I have walked a path that has mile markers, and my phone logs about 10% less.  Not fair!

Edited January 1, 2021 by SKL