Well-trained bodies - July

[Soror]

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

@Soror I'm sorry about the stress and sleeplessness. 

We are renting a cottage in the Peak District for a week. Hoping for walking, eating, visiting and maybe cycling.

Standing from the floor - in my case without using my hands or kneeling - is something I aim to do every day at the end of my yoga practice,  as a test.

Lovely, I'm sure you'll share some nice pics for us.

1 hour ago, heartlikealion said:

I feel like I have to do all my exercise at once rather than some in the morning, some at night, because I need a shower afterwards. I’d rather not shower twice a day. 

I’m going to try to keep the bad food out of the house. The other day I ate the last pancake after the kids left town. Later I was telling myself you could have just froze it. All I was thinking was don’t waste food. 

I need to make a list of exercises and get in the habit of doing certain ones daily and others 3x a week. The daily ones are like stretching my leg against a door frame. 

Do you all use a food scale? I haven’t bought one but eventually I will. I thought it was overkill but for certain things it may be useful plus when I bake again it could be useful if I make something not written using cups. No baking for a while though, too much temptation. I notice on MFP it will say how many oz of chicken and I’m just guessing. 

I have never used a food scale. My goal has always been to go about things in the least restrictive way possible. I see a food scale as something to try after other changes haven't worked. I always like to focus on food quality first and then food quanitity second. I like to eat. If I eat healthy foods I can eat more of them  and it is better for me, win/win 🙂

44 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Yes! I did 30 minutes of stretching and some gentle yoga. It felt really good. My body really needed the gentle movement and rest. 

I also ate chocolate, which I consider special for my body. 😊

LOL I love it 🙂 I had 2 gf chocolate muffins yesterday that were special for me 🙂

42 minutes ago, wintermom said:

That is really exciting about feeling no pain!! I really hope this continues. Constant pain is so hard to deal with, especially when you're going through a lot of very challenging mental and emotional issues at the same time. 

Thanks---- to be clear most of the time the pain hasn't been horrible-- just there. I know others have much more to deal with than I do!!

 

5 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Oh, it's exacerbated by the injury, for sure, but the combination of those arthritic knees and the peripheral neuropathy (which can cause weakness in the affected limbs) has made this an issue for some time. Exercises to strengthen my legs and support the knees are part of my regular routine. However, it seems -- like everything else I'm doing -- not to be yielding a lot in the way of progress.

Oh, I see, that is even more frustrating to be specifically working on something and not seeing much progress.

[Jenny in Florida]

@Soror - I'm sorry about the sleeplessness. Trying to function regularly on not enough sleep makes everything harder. Yippee for no pain, though!

@heartlikealion - I do not use a food scale. I have a pretty checkered history with what I now recognize was disordered eating. So I have to be careful about how much I let myself focus on food and weight. I have found the best approach for me -- when I am in a good enough place to manage it -- is to just try to stick to good habits. I use smaller plates when serving myself snacks, don't keep stuff in the house that I don't want to eat regularly, make sure to eat a serving or two of fruits and/or vegetables every time I eat anything (which sometimes means that's a whole snack), also include a concentrated protein source with every meal, try not to give in to the late-night snack temptation, etc. It took a while to internalize, but now these are mostly habits I don't even have to think about.

In the last year, my assorted health issues and medications came together in a perfect storm that resulted in a gain of about 30 pounds, regardless of what I did or didn't eat and how much I exercise. My endocrinologist adjusted things a couple of months ago, and now -- doing nothing significantly different from what I was doing before -- the scale numbers are going back down. I have one more medication to discuss with the oncologist later this month; I'm hoping changing that out may also help get me back to a healthier weight.

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

 

Do you all use a food scale? I haven’t bought one but eventually I will. I thought it was overkill but for certain things it may be useful plus when I bake again it could be useful if I make something not written using cups. No baking for a while though, too much temptation. I notice on MFP it will say how many oz of chicken and I’m just guessing. 

I have a food scale, but the UK doesn't use cup measures much, so a scale is normal kitchen equipment . I don't weigh things regularly, but it's useful to weigh a bit if you are not sure about portion sizes. 

[Ali in OR]

Another day of 30 min on the treadmill at the slower pace.

I do have a food scale. We were given one when dd was on the ketogenic diet over 20 years ago for seizures and we had to exactly measure food to the nearest gram for her.  I then found it convenient to have for some baking recipes (it's easy to over-measure flour if you don't weight it) and even for some dinners I still use it (13 oz of spaghetti is the right amount for our family--are we weird for not just cooking the whole 16 oz package? Perhaps...). I don't regularly measure out my own food, but when I need to reset like after the holidays and I use My Fitness Pal for awhile, I do weigh out servings to measure and account for calories accurately. I replaced the old scale a year ago because I still find it a useful thing to have around.

My Lenten reset (giving up sweets during Lent) has been more successful than usual. I am just not eating as much food as I used to. Even if I tell myself "you deserve some ice cream--it's been a hard day," I'm more likely now to just think "nah, I'm not hungry." The other thing that happened during Lent is that I officially entered menopause as my doctor took me off low-dose birth control pills. I'm wondering about the connection between hormones and appetite. Maybe I've hit the old lady stage of just not wanting as much food. I definitely still get hungry--I'm not worried about underlying health issues. I just don't need or want as much food.

[Jenny in Florida]

I did get out for a second walk after work, but didn't make my 15,000-step goal (made it alllmost to 14,000). It was hot and humid out there, and I was just done.

I'm still working on getting back to my regular morning 4k. Today was 3.7, followed by the 20-minute Tabata upper body video I found last week. 

I'm flying tomorrow morning to attend an event and visit with my daughter in NYC, so no clue how much regular exercise I will get for the next few days. The hotel does have a fitness center, but I don't know how comfortable I will be using it. I'm taking my laptop, so if worse comes to worst, I could always just walk along with Leslie Sansome videos in my room. 

 

Summer Splash Challenge: 195.0 of 600K
Walking Streak: 65 days

[heartlikealion]

I am not the best at estimating calories and portions, hence the consideration of the scale. I am currently counting calories (not every day, but most of the time). I feel comfortable grabbing handfuls of Romaine lettuce, but I am a bit confused about chicken portions. I might eat half a breast on my salad, but another day eat a tenderloin and I don't know how many oz for each item. MFP will calculate calories based on the oz. I'm sure it's not the end of the world, but just so I have a starting place to gauge it since I've never measured any of the chicken. 

I want to lose ~50 lbs. MFP recommends 1350 calories a day for me. I eat more than that most days, but offset it with the exercise. However, maybe I should be eating closer to that regardless of the exercise. I genuinely like salads, so I don't feel like I'm torturing myself when I eat them. Prior to kids I was around 110lbs and this year I'm the largest I've ever been (even bigger than I was when pregnant). I definitely am not aiming to get to 110 Lol. But I have a small frame and feel super awkward at my current size/how my clothes fit. Especially since I'm small chested and I feel like my belly sticks out further than my chest. I have a check up in Aug for the high BP so that's another motivator. And I just want to build muscle and get healthy in general. So it's a lot of things, and I'm just hoping to get down 10-30 lbs relatively quickly so I can feel comfortable in my clothing again. I tried on like 5 tops before church the other day and they all looked terrible. 

I recently stopped eating deli meat because it is high in sodium and has nitrates/nitrites. I stopped eating tortillas and eat taco meat on lettuce with a little dressing. And I estimate or measure the taco meat. I froze some this week because I didn't want to feel obligated to eat it all before it went bad and therefore overeat. 

[Soror]

5 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

I am not the best at estimating calories and portions, hence the consideration of the scale. I am currently counting calories (not every day, but most of the time). I feel comfortable grabbing handfuls of Romaine lettuce, but I am a bit confused about chicken portions. I might eat half a breast on my salad, but another day eat a tenderloin and I don't know how many oz for each item. MFP will calculate calories based on the oz. I'm sure it's not the end of the world, but just so I have a starting place to gauge it since I've never measured any of the chicken. 

I want to lose ~50 lbs. MFP recommends 1350 calories a day for me. I eat more than that most days, but offset it with the exercise. However, maybe I should be eating closer to that regardless of the exercise. I genuinely like salads, so I don't feel like I'm torturing myself when I eat them. Prior to kids I was around 110lbs and this year I'm the largest I've ever been (even bigger than I was when pregnant). I definitely am not aiming to get to 110 Lol. But I have a small frame and feel super awkward at my current size/how my clothes fit. Especially since I'm small chested and I feel like my belly sticks out further than my chest. I have a check up in Aug for the high BP so that's another motivator. And I just want to build muscle and get healthy in general. So it's a lot of things, and I'm just hoping to get down 10-30 lbs relatively quickly so I can feel comfortable in my clothing again. I tried on like 5 tops before church the other day and they all looked terrible. 

I recently stopped eating deli meat because it is high in sodium and has nitrates/nitrites. I stopped eating tortillas and eat taco meat on lettuce with a little dressing. And I estimate or measure the taco meat. I froze some this week because I didn't want to feel obligated to eat it all before it went bad and therefore overeat. 

There are a lot of methods for losing weight/getting healthier in the end you have to do what works for you. Personally, I'd not be so concerned about serving sizes for things like chicken breast, vegetables and healthy whole foods. I'd be more concerned with foods that are calorically dense, easy to overeat, and/or not so healthy- nuts, oils, breads, pasta, dessert, candy. When you fill up more on the healthy foods there isn't so much for the not so healthy foods. Then again like @Ali in OR being strict with serving sizes can really be helpful when you need a reset. Sometimes our eating gets out of whack and we lose perspective of appropriate sizes. When I'm needing a reset I will journal in some way and measure certain servings-- eyeballing it (thumb size amount for fats, palm for protein, and handful for carbs) or measuring cups. 

 

[wintermom]

I took both dogs for two walks in the off-least woods. The older dog especially loved the freedom of walking and stopping when he wanted to sniff. It was his first time at the off-leash in these trails.

I also played mixed doubles tennis for 1.5 hours. It was really fun. The 30 min less that 2 full hours was quite nice. I had a lot more energy afterwards.

[heartlikealion]

I don't know what was wrong with me today, but I was especially tired and unproductive part of the day. I napped and did some work and exercise late tonight. I didn't make it out on a walk, but I did 36 min on my bike and a few stretches. I ran an errand earlier today and bought a set of 2 lb weights that you can strap on legs or arms. Well they don't really fit on the upper arm, so it's wrists or ankles. I put them on when I biked, but I couldn't really feel much difference. I won't wear them every time. 

I stayed within the calorie goal today, but it said all that pineapple I ate today tipped me over the sugar limit. I snacked on some steamed veggies today, too. I don't care if that sounds weird lol Just trying to eat better choices. I boiled some eggs for snacks, too. 

I think the minutes/frequency on the old PT exercises I have are outdated. Or very conservative. It says to do the hamstring stretch against the door frame for just 10 seconds... but then it says 20 reps and no rest. That makes no sense! lol. I read online that you can start low then increase. I didn't know any better and had been doing it a couple minutes. So I guess maybe one min or even less is still ok. One website said don't overstretch them because it can tilt your pelvis (yikes) but I don't think I'm in any danger of that. 

I usually take my medication (anti depressant/anxiety med) in the evening but I threw off my schedule and took it in the morning. I didn't think it affected me that negatively but maybe that's part of the reason I was so dang tired today. Tomorrow I'll take it in the afternoon. 

[Soror]

@heartlikealion I think there is a very good chance changing your med time could have thrown off your energy levels. Here's hoping today is a better day.

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

I did not wake in the night but don't feel all that peppy. Good chance that is because I waited too long to fill my thyroid med and I was out of refills so I'm rationing them until I get the refill. Too much stress and crap going on I kept forgetting.

Went to PT. She didn't have a great answer to me as to why I had so much pain last week and then bam it went away. My lower back is a bit sore today from the manipulation and such but not painful. She said --- I need to keep working on stretches and finally gave me some specific strengthening exercises to do. The exercises are mostly different yoga moves--- so really do more yoga. I've been trying to add more yoga and flexibility work to my routine but keep slacking. Also, I know that sitting time also gives me issue so that is a continued goal to limit consecutive time sitting and get in min. 10k steps a day.

Today: 

upper body strength  (40 ish min )+ yoga strength/stretch (10-15 min)

And I'm going to try Pickleball --- they finally have it again at the right time/place for me and because my girls stayed at a friend's house I can actually go the full time (2 hours) this time. Fingers crossed it goes well and all that. After that is over I'll have time for just a bit of walking before I need to pick up the girls.

 

[wintermom]

47 minutes ago, Soror said:

@heartlikealion I think there is a very good chance changing your med time could have thrown off your energy levels. Here's hoping today is a better day.

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

I did not wake in the night but don't feel all that peppy. Good chance that is because I waited too long to fill my thyroid med and I was out of refills so I'm rationing them until I get the refill. Too much stress and crap going on I kept forgetting.

Went to PT. She didn't have a great answer to me as to why I had so much pain last week and then bam it went away. My lower back is a bit sore today from the manipulation and such but not painful. She said --- I need to keep working on stretches and finally gave me some specific strengthening exercises to do. The exercises are mostly different yoga moves--- so really do more yoga. I've been trying to add more yoga and flexibility work to my routine but keep slacking. Also, I know that sitting time also gives me issue so that is a continued goal to limit consecutive time sitting and get in min. 10k steps a day.

Today: 

upper body strength  (40 ish min )+ yoga strength/stretch (10-15 min)

And I'm going to try Pickleball --- they finally have it again at the right time/place for me and because my girls stayed at a friend's house I can actually go the full time (2 hours) this time. Fingers crossed it goes well and all that. After that is over I'll have time for just a bit of walking before I need to pick up the girls.

 

I hope the new stretches help you out! Sitting is tough on my body, too. I have to do it for work, so I try to build in lots of short breaks to get up and move (usually with the puppy). The puppy is really good at reminding me that we've been inactive for too long. 😉 

Enjoy the pickleball! Two hours can go by super quick, but if you need to drop out and watch for a bit or finish up early, don't feel bad at all. For me, I have a sweet spot at the 1.5 hour mark. The last half hour in a 2 hr session isn't usually my best tennis. Let me know if you master the scoring system - I'll be impressed and a little jealous. 😊

[wintermom]

It's another no-tennis day for me today. I'm taking the dogs to the off-leash trails this morning, doing some yoga, and hopefully some kayaking this evening. 

[Ali in OR]

I did yoga today instead of the treadmill. Just feeling the need to stretch a bit. Yoga Morning Fresh was good for that--not so much strength or flow moves--more stretching kind of stuff. Tested again yesterday and still a very faint positive line--I'm hoping for a negative tomorrow (I don't test daily--conserving tests and it doesn't feel like enough time for something to change).

[heartlikealion]

Just want to say you ladies are killing it 👏 so motivating. 

I hope everyone in pain or sickness heals soon. 

[Laura Corin]

Just a potter around a picturesque town this morning and a visit to a second-hand bookshop.  This afternoon we took a gentle four-mile stroll near our holiday cottage.

The photos are the views in two directions from our lunch table outside the cottage. The other photo shows Well Dressing to honour the water source with pictures made of petals, a summer tradition in Derbyshire. 

[Harriet Vane]

I've been out of the loop this week, just drifting a bit post-vacation. I have taken a few walks down the lane next to the house this week, so that's good. Today I went to gyrotonics (masked) and it felt great. I'm really glad for this weird exercise as I always feel the better for it. I've also been trying hard to build strength in my midriff, and so we worked on some exercises targeting that area specifically.

Tomorrow I'll do weights and core. I had been doing a steady Tues-Thurs schedule for that, but have been disrupted on that. Still doing it twice a week, just scheduling it for different days. I'd like to get back to something predictable for that, though.

[heartlikealion]

The box with weights says 2 lb set and I was wondering all along if it was 2 lbs total or 4 lbs total. I stood on the scale with and without one weight and it only went up 1 lb while I was holding it. I think that’s too wimpy. I may try to return. 

tonight I did 30 min on the bike plus stretches and some strength training. My 8 lb dumbbells seem a bit easier to use vs when I started. 

It’s possible the way the door frame exercise was worded meant 10 sec x 20 reps no break = ~3 min but I have no idea. I did about a min for each leg. 

[Soror]

Lovely photos @Laura Corin, sounds like a nice relaxing time.

@Harriet Vane I was wondering where you were. It is hard when we get thrown off schedule, at least you were able to stay active.

@heartlikealion ya for getting stronger. I like a range of weights for different exercises-- 

On 7/7/2022 at 7:47 AM, wintermom said:

I hope the new stretches help you out! Sitting is tough on my body, too. I have to do it for work, so I try to build in lots of short breaks to get up and move (usually with the puppy). The puppy is really good at reminding me that we've been inactive for too long. 😉 

Enjoy the pickleball! Two hours can go by super quick, but if you need to drop out and watch for a bit or finish up early, don't feel bad at all. For me, I have a sweet spot at the 1.5 hour mark. The last half hour in a 2 hr session isn't usually my best tennis. Let me know if you master the scoring system - I'll be impressed and a little jealous. 😊

Thanks! I ended up there just 1.5 hours as that worked better for the friend I went with. I didn't master the scoring system but know a hair more than when I started. I invited a friend to go with me and we both had fun and plan on going back. It went much better the more we practiced. Some of the more experienced ladies played with us a bit and then we practiced some on our own. I'm now on the text list --- evidently they put out some notices just via FB and some via text. 

Today:

HIIT+ stretches/strength/core (putting in the yoga strength/mobility moves into my warm-up and the stretches into my cool down)

Not sure what else--- I'd kind of like to go swimming as we've not been in 2 weeks with being so busy but I also promised the girls a movie. They probably want to do a movie today as they were swimming with friends the last 2 days and are pretty worn out.

[heartlikealion]

I have modified my goals in MFP. I think the current pace/goals are too slow. I upped my goal for protein and lowered it for carbs. I changed the calories… I was losing weight weeks ago using a lower goal. If it’s too hard that’s ok but aiming lower seems to be more productive for now. 

[Laura Corin]

A leisurely 7 1/2 mile walk up a valley called Dovedale. That's it for the day - maybe some cycling tomorrow. 

[heartlikealion]

I like chocolate but I do not recommend these products. The powder was a free sample at least. 

[Soror]

44 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

I have modified my goals in MFP. I think the current pace/goals are too slow. I upped my goal for protein and lowered it for carbs. I changed the calories… I was losing weight weeks ago using a lower goal. If it’s too hard that’s ok but aiming lower seems to be more productive for now. 

Question for you----- since you stopped losing weight how many days have you met your calorie goals? I would be starving on that many calories that I would end up overeating on some days. *If* you were meeting those goals every day and still not losing I'd consider it maybe but I'd be leery of going much lower. --- I'm pretty certain you are like me and have not went through menopause-- which lowers our caloric needs.---  I think finding a level of restriction you can maintain consistently is most important. You want enough calories you are not deprived and end up overeating later but enough of a deficit you seem some results. I am much more a fan of slow and steady. 

[Ali in OR]

30 min on the treadmill--31 actually because I was reading and forgot to look at the time. And full speed today.

[Harriet Vane]

Weights and core today with just a tiny warm up on the elliptical first. After two weeks of none of that stuff (just hiking on vacation or low-intensity walks), this was quite a push. Good to be back in the saddle, though. 

[heartlikealion]

23 minutes ago, Soror said:

Question for you----- since you stopped losing weight how many days have you met your calorie goals? I would be starving on that many calories that I would end up overeating on some days. *If* you were meeting those goals every day and still not losing I'd consider it maybe but I'd be leery of going much lower. --- I'm pretty certain you are like me and have not went through menopause-- which lowers our caloric needs.---  I think finding a level of restriction you can maintain consistently is most important. You want enough calories you are not deprived and end up overeating later but enough of a deficit you seem some results. I am much more a fan of slow and steady. 

It's confusing. You are probably right. I see that at one point MFP gave me 1561 calories as a daily goal (don't ask me how that happened) and other days it said less than 1300. So dropping to 1200 doesn't seem necessary to still lose. I just need to make sure the calories I eat are good items. I'm 39/not menopausal. 

I think the main reason I stopped losing weight is because of diet so if I just stay away from the sugar and exercise regularly I should hopefully lose again. I did sorta reset the other day back to where I was over a week ago. There are no baked goods in the house anymore. And then of course if I'm building any muscle that may also affect the scale not going down. 

[heartlikealion]

So I don't know if I'm jumping the gun here as pickeball may not be a realistic past time for me, but I bought an affordable paddle so at least if I do go to a court I won't show up empty handed and depending on which paddle is better, I can use mine instead of my dad's spare when I join him. I saw that one group meets on Saturdays (further away) and asked to be added to their Group Me text chain thing. I think they meet on Thursday nights, too but that could have been the third group. There are three groups that I know of and at some point in 2021 one of the YMCAs had a group meeting for free with no membership required. But it was middle of the work week so even if they are still meeting, it's not practical for me. 

I had some amazon credit for a return and clipped the coupon so out of pocket cost was approx $11 for this. Dd would approve -- she's obsessed with galaxy prints. 

[wintermom]

@Laura Corin Thanks for sharing those lovely photos! I really like the flower petals one. Like a mosaic with real petals and natural colours. Fantastic!

@Soror Glad you made it to pickleball and had fun! 

 

I played 2 hrs of mixed doubles tennis this evening. It was a lot of fun! I was pretty satisfied with my playing, which is always a bonus!

I have more tennis tomorrow morning, but I have to bike to the courts. I'm estimating that it'll take me close to an hour, then I play tennis for 2 hrs. Then I bike to the dog agility park - about 30 minute. Dd will meet me there with the puppy, and we'll have a lesson with our instructor. After that, I'll be pretty much dead and in need of a long nap. 😉 

Edited July 9, 2022 by wintermom

[heartlikealion]

44 minutes ago, wintermom said:

@Laura Corin Thanks for sharing those lovely photos! I really like the flower petals one. Like a mosaic with real petals and natural colours. Fantastic!

@Soror Glad you made it to pickleball and had fun! 

 

I played 2 hrs of mixed doubles tennis this evening. It was a lot of fun! I was pretty satisfied with my playing, which is always a bonus!

I have more tennis tomorrow morning, but I have to bike to the courts. I'm estimating that it'll take me close to an hour, then I play tennis for 2 hrs. Then I bike to the dog agility park - about 30 minute. Dd will meet me there with the puppy, and we'll have a lesson with our instructor. After that, I'll be pretty much dead and in need of a long nap. 😉 

I’m tired just reading that lol 

————-

today 25 min at the walking track. 30 min on the bike. MFP is still being stupid. It says my walk burned just 5 calories. 

 

[Laura Corin]

4 hours ago, wintermom said:

@Laura Corin Thanks for sharing those lovely photos! I really like the flower petals one. Like a mosaic with real petals and natural colours. Fantastic!

@Soror Glad you made it to pickleball and had fun! 

 

I played 2 hrs of mixed doubles tennis this evening. It was a lot of fun! I was pretty satisfied with my playing, which is always a bonus!

I have more tennis tomorrow morning, but I have to bike to the courts. I'm estimating that it'll take me close to an hour, then I play tennis for 2 hrs. Then I bike to the dog agility park - about 30 minute. Dd will meet me there with the puppy, and we'll have a lesson with our instructor. After that, I'll be pretty much dead and in need of a long nap. 😉 

Wow. That sounds like a lot!  I hope it's fun. 

[Laura Corin]

Lovely couple of hours cycling the Monsal Trail - a disused railway line, so fairly flat. It was a lot of fun. I had expected to flake pretty quickly because I haven't cycled in years, but my yoga and walking muscles seemed adequate to the task.

We picked up Bakewell Pudding afterwards and ate it in the sunshine at the cottage with tea/coffee. The weather is glorious 21  degrees C and sunny with a good breeze. Daughter is at TransPride in London today, so it was just Husband and me.

https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/places-to-visit/trails/monsaltrail

https://www.bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk/our-history

 

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

Lovely couple of hours cycling the Monsal Trail - a disused railway line, so fairly flat. It was a lot of fun. I had expected to flake pretty quickly because I haven't cycled in years, but my yoga and walking muscles seemed adequate to the task.

We picked up Bakewell Pudding afterwards and ate it in the sunshine at the cottage with tea/coffee. The weather is glorious 21  degrees C and sunny with a good breeze. Daughter is at TransPride in London today, so it was just Husband and me.

https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/places-to-visit/trails/monsaltrail

https://www.bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk/our-history

 

Sounds wonderful! The bakewell buddings look delicious! Glad you were able to bike easily!

[wintermom]

My long, early morning bike ride to tennis was way better than I was expecting. The weather was perfect, and the bike trail system is really nice and goes right along the river. Tennis was fun, and I was more awake than usual in the mornings because of the bike ride. It wasn't even too bad biking after tennis. I'm still feeling pretty energized, though I may fit in an afternoon nap. 😉 

Tonight, dh and I are going to a music performance of one of our tennis buddies. He plays trombone in a jazz band and orchestra. It should be really nice to see some live music. 

[heartlikealion]

Oh all these biking stories sound lovely. I usually watch tv on my stationary bike or a YouTube scene video lol 

@wintermom Enjoy the love music! 

Today I met up at another Pickelball location and played with them! I was afraid I wouldn’t get to play based on who was left/not tired when I arrived. I was tired this morning so slept in later. They start at 7:30 am and go til 10:30. I was able to borrow a paddle and let them know I ordered one. I can’t get into the group chat app they use because of some issue so I reached out to the Group Me customer service to try to resolve it. I told the Pickleball people that it wouldn’t let me create a new acct because it said my phone number is affiliated with one already. They joked I’m in the witness protection program. 

Currently they do “open play” 3x a week and it doesn’t matter what level you are. I told them I was a beginner but had played a couple times. They thought I did well. I think I need to study the game because I was always confused about who got to serve when and they scoring. They would direct me but I want to get it. 

So one game, roughly 30 min. And a mix of men and women. They are starting a league in the fall and each team must have one female but I don’t plan to sign up. The cost plus commitment is too much right now. I will try to get my son to join me one day I think. He played once with my dad. Dd is too little. 

grocery shopped and stocked up on my lettuce (6 hearts of romaine at Sam’s) 

A woman suggested plant-based Evolve if I want to try another protein drink. I will look next time I am in the city. 

40 min on the exercise bike. 

I think I’ve had roughly 9 cups of water today. I don’t know where the fill line is in my thermos! But it says 18oz and I fill it most of the way. 

I emailed a second bowling league (never heard back from first one) what it would cost to be a sub in their fall league. I played in a league as a teen and love to bowl. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by heartlikealion
Typos

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, heartlikealion said:

Oh all these biking stories sound lovely. I usually watch tv on my stationary bike or a YouTube scene video lol 

@wintermom Enjoy the love music! 

Today I met up at another Pickelball location and played with them! I was afraid I wouldn’t get to play based on who was left/not tired when I arrived. I was tired this morning so slept in later. They start at 7:30 am and go til 10:30. I was able to borrow a paddle and let them know I ordered one. I can’t get into the group chat app they use because of some issue so I reached out to the Group Me customer service to try to resolve it. I told the Pickleball people that it wouldn’t let me create a new acct because it said my phone number is affiliated with one already. They joked I’m in the witness protection program. 

Currently they do “open play” 3x a week and it doesn’t matter what level you are. I told them I was a beginner but had played a couple times. They thought I did well. I think I need to study the game because I was always confused about who got to serve when and they scoring. They would direct me but I want to get it. 

So one game, roughly 30 min. And a mix of men and women. They are starting a league in the fall and each team must have one female but I don’t plan to sign up. The cost plus commitment is too much right now. I will try to get my son to join me one day I think. He played once with my dad. Dd is too little. 

grocery shopped and stocked up on my lettuce (6 hearts of romaine at Sam’s) 

A woman suggested plant-based Evolve if I want to try another protein drink. I will look next time I am in the city. 

40 min on the exercise bike. 

I think I’ve had roughly 9 cups of water today. I don’t know where the fill line is in my thermos! But it says 18oz and I fill it most of the way. 

I emailed a second bowling league (never heard back from first one) what it would cost to be a sub in their fall league. I played in a league as a teen and love to bowl. 

Glad you got to play! That's super. Yes the serving order is kind of weird, too. I'd forgotten that. And the way to get a point only when your side serves just makes the games drag on and on, I felt. Hope you enjoy playing with the group! 

[wintermom]

The live concert tonight was actually an orchestra (with strings) playing together with a rock band, and they played a variety of rock and roll songs together with really interesting arrangements. There was a lso a dance group that danced along with a few different songs. There was some old roack and roll songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis, then a few of the Beatles songs, Pink Floyd, Queen, Stairway to Heaven, Genesis, The Police and the Rolling Stones to finish up. There was supposed to be a singer/narrator to sing a few songs and talk about the evolution of Rock and Roll over the decades, but unfortunately he came down with Covid. It was still a wonderful concert with just the instruments. I sang along to most of the songs on my own. 😉 

[heartlikealion]

Rest day today. Whoo I’m feeling the pickleball all over. Between that my my biking my butt is sore 🤣

[wintermom]

Tennis this morning was really fun. It was sunny and not too hot. I'll be taking the dogs to the off-leash hiking trails with dd this afternoon.

This evening dh and I are going to a stand-up comedy club to see an old friend (who moved away years ago) do his stand-up routine. We haven't seen him in years, and we're really looking forward to seeing hiim and supporting his routine. 

[Laura Corin]

Chatsworth today - the location of Pemberley in the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice film. Blazing sunshine and a fair bit of pottering about. I started the day with some careful yoga - I forgot to bring my mat, so I couldn't do some moves.

https://www.chatsworth.org/visit-chatsworth/

[Ali in OR]

I finally tested negative on Friday, so I spent much of Friday and Saturday restoring food stocks. Grocery store on Friday. Yesterday dh and I were up bright and early for opening day of our favorite blueberry variety (about 2 weeks late due to our cold, wet spring). So I missed my Saturday morning yoga because we were picking 38 pounds of blueberries at 7am. Most of those are in the freezer, and most of that goes in our oatmeal most every morning of the year. Then I did a Target/Costco run--first since April. And when I came home I still had to make dinner and bag up the blueberries--too much time on my feet. So today has been mostly a rest day, but I did do a gentle yoga to make up for missing yesterday.

I love summer. Lovely times on our patio as we finally have no rain! Tomorrow will be a bit too hot at 97°, but it's a lovely 82° today and we get a lot of days like that.

[Jenny in Florida]

Just a quick check-in: I'm in NYC for a few days attending an event and doing a fly-by visit with my daughter. My regular routine has been out the window, but I have gone to the fitness room in the hotel every morning to use the treadmill and weight machines. One morning, I tried the elliptical, but that didn't last more than about 10 minutes. And, of course, I'm walking a lot. 

I have today free until heading to my daughter's apartment this evening. I'm thinking I'll skip the fitness center and go walk the High Line. 

 

Summer Splash Challenge: 215.8 of 600K
Walking Streak: 69 days

[heartlikealion]

2 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Just a quick check-in: I'm in NYC for a few days attending an event and doing a fly-by visit with my daughter. My regular routine has been out the window, but I have gone to the fitness room in the hotel every morning to use the treadmill and weight machines. One morning, I tried the elliptical, but that didn't last more than about 10 minutes. And, of course, I'm walking a lot. 

I have today free until heading to my daughter's apartment this evening. I'm thinking I'll skip the fitness center and go walk the High Line. 

 

Summer Splash Challenge: 215.8 of 600K
Walking Streak: 69 days

that is so cool your hotel has a fitness center!! Enjoy your walk!

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

My kids come over any minute. I got up semi early today and went to the walking track. I had weird timing because two men showed up with mowers lol. I listened to music today. I still cannot fathom how the average person with a desk job is supposed to log 10k steps a day. I get such a measly amount. There's a fitness center really close to where I'm moving. I might just do what I do with my streaming channels... sign up for a month, use it a lot that month, then take a break. It's $35/month or $25 with a year commitment. I cannot commit to a year, but I could probably allot $35 here and there. I want to use the treadmill mostly. I don't know if you get coaches if you do month-to-month. 

If I don't get any more exercise in today at least I got some walking in. But I may do the bike or something later.

Ok, ladies... I'm super clueless about what is a good "warm up your muscles so you don't stretch cold" exercise. Everyone tells me to stretch before walking/biking etc but I also have been told don't stretch cold muscles. So what do you do?? Besides stretching after a warm shower. 

[Laura Corin]

Today was just an short walk up Mam Tor - eldest didn't feel like much exertion. We are also working our way through the local ice-cream brands.  28 degrees C today.

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Laura Corin

[Jenny in Florida]

1 hour ago, heartlikealion said:

I still cannot fathom how the average person with a desk job is supposed to log 10k steps a day.  

I actually found it easier to log steps when I was working in an office away from home. I would take a walk with the dog first thing, take a short walk on my lunch break, then walk with the dog again in the evening. That combined with the normal moving around the office talking to people and going to and from the restroom and such was easily 10,000.

Working from home, logging steps requires more intention, because I don't have the normal, incidental movement of just being out in the world.

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, heartlikealion said:

 

Ok, ladies... I'm super clueless about what is a good "warm up your muscles so you don't stretch cold" exercise. Everyone tells me to stretch before walking/biking etc but I also have been told don't stretch cold muscles. So what do you do?? Besides stretching after a warm shower. 

I don't know if this is the kind of thing you are thinking of, but I tend to use sun salutations as a way to get my muscles moving at the beginning of the day or before going into extended yoga poses. There are lots of versions but I do roughly version A on this page but with an added lunge and twist.

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/sun-salutation-sequence#sun-salutation-a

[heartlikealion]

21 minutes ago, Jenny in Florida said:

I actually found it easier to log steps when I was working in an office away from home. I would take a walk with the dog first thing, take a short walk on my lunch break, then walk with the dog again in the evening. That combined with the normal moving around the office talking to people and going to and from the restroom and such was easily 10,000.

Working from home, logging steps requires more intention, because I don't have the normal, incidental movement of just being out in the world.

I usually work from home. I don’t wear my phone so I’m sure I get some steps from just walking around the house, doing laundry etc but it’s still very minimal. When I did work inside an office I really don’t know if I got that many steps. 

It’s so hot in my state that you’d be dripping in sweat if you walked on your lunch hour. I think getting the access to the treadmill might help if I go there in the evenings. It’s just unbearable to go on multiple walks here. 

My walk this morning was just 3377 steps. My step count now is just slightly higher (from carrying my phone around the house a few times). 

[Soror]

Great picture @Laura Corin- a nice walk and icecream that is a good day. 

@Jenny in Florida enjoy your vaca in NY.

@heartlikealion Honestly, I don't warm up for walks- just more intense activity. I do  My brain is not working today-- I do things like arm swings, hip circles, gentle squats, kick/marches-- alternating touching toes, dynamic stretching-- ie not holding a position-- reaching up and down as a fluid movement, twisting side to side. Just trying to wake everything up-- nothing fast or jerky or too hard.

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

Saturday was a planned rest day, just as well as I woke up exhausted and achy. I think mostly not enough sleep- combined with first full week of regular exercises sinca vaca, new activity using a bit different muscles (pickleball) + a day of swimming and a bucket of stress and busyness. I did get some outside work done in the evening as the weather was nice.

I planned to exercise Sunday- but I woke up at 2:30 (and couldn't go back to sleep), started my period, and was still feeling achy so I took another day off and caught up on housework and laundry.

Today:

upper body strength (planned to do lower body but my hip--- which was fine started aching this weekend and is still a bit sore)

I don't know why the hip is aching again. I've made sure to get steps in. I've done my stretches. I didn't add back weights yet to lower body workouts. All the things she thought was bothering it. Funny enough my back is still fine. Who knows.

yard work outside this am

[Ali in OR]

30 min on the treadmill this morning, regular speed.

I don't usually pay attention to my daily steps, but when I do check occasionally I have no trouble getting lots of steps on a teaching day. I just noted that I'm at 5200 right now--the treadmill is surely my highest step count morning exercise, but anything besides my bodyweight circuit/yoga day will give me a good start. On a teaching day I usually end over 12,000--that's enough for me. I'm sure my summer count is lower. My phone app just told me my last 8 days were "lower than usual" but much of that was also Covid inactivity.

Enjoy the ice cream challenge @Laura Corin--that sounds like my kind of vacation goal! Lovely pic.

[heartlikealion]

I am still sore from Pickleball. I joined the facebook group for the DVD set I have (Metabolic Renewal) and learned how it's meant to be used. There are 4 phases and each phase is done 3x a week for 3 weeks. Total program is 12 weeks then you start over if you want to repeat it. The exercises are supposedly paired up with your personal hormone type (so someone that had a different quiz result was given different workouts I think). I may have already explained in another thread that there wasn't much scientific proof to back it up, but I figured it can't hurt to give it a shot. DVD number one has 3 workouts you alternate. I had been skipping the "leg workout" because I do so much biking, but I did it today and I think it was beneficial. I did modifications. I can't transition between exercises as fast as the ladies on the video, partly because I'm still sore lol. The recommendation is to not work out too much for your hormone type because you'll create more corisol and hang onto belly fat or something... I'm not sure I totally believe that. He wants you to do 10k of walking on the days you aren't doing HIIT (or maybe daily) and that's what I'm trying to increase anyway. 

I've researched several protein powders recently as they suggest a shake for breakfast, but they mostly all sound horrible. They either have dairy (which I'd rather avoid as I can be sensitive to dairy), too many calories, taste gross, or a high sodium content. I was about to order the 310 Nutrition sampler pack but it had a huge sodium level and that's what I need to cut back on for my BP. Garden of Life has one that sounded perfect, but several of the reviews said it was disgusting LOL. 

I think if I just stay active and watch what I eat, I'll continue to lose weight even if I don't follow the advice to the T. I mean really, all these workout programs conflict with each other, anyway. 

Debating asking the dr to test my calcium and magnesium levels at the check up. A nurse friend said I should be taking calcium since I'm taking Vit D. 

Short version: did a HIIT exercise tonight. Will try to do 3 a week. 

[Ali in OR]

Did my bodyweight circuit x2 and Yoga for Flexibility this morning.

Things are ramping up with moving dd to foster care. This Thursday and Friday she'll spend all day in the home and I'll go also to help train them on what to do with her. She'll still spend most weekends with us but maybe we'll work on her room over there this weekend (I think we need some furniture, blackout blinds, bedding...I'll make a list when I'm there Thursday. Luckily dd has some savings to cover this). Then sometime next week she'll start spending the night I think. I could not fall asleep last night with both thinking of things we'll need to do and also the mom guilt of moving her after 25 years of being the major caregiver. I'm hoping her life will be better with more activity, more people, still plenty of us on the weekends. And hoping our life will be a bit easier this coming school year with more reliable care for her. But it's a big transition for all of us.

[Laura Corin]

@Ali in OR best wishes for the transition. 

@heartlikealion I'm not a big fan of protein shakes. In general I eat minimally-processed foods that I cook myself. There are benefits - particularly to the gut microbiome - of whole foods that are more than the sum of the individual nutrients they contain. 

If you are interested in losing weight, whole foods also take longer to digest than processed foods - most people find that the reduced sugar spikes lead to fewer cravings.

------

An eight-mile hike today.  It should have been six, but we missed our way coming down from Stanage Edge - pictured - and there aren't too many options, so we walked on an extra mile or so to find a different path. Later, we walked by the house that inspired Mr Rochester's mansion in Jane Eyre

Today's ice-cream was fine but not very special - it was fun to buy it at the farm where the cows are raised and the ice-cream is made though.

Tomorrow we drive home, so that will be an exercise rest day. I'll try to do some sun salutations first thing.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Laura Corin