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Healthy Habits 1.8

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

A nasty cold has set me back the past week, so I’ve generally been avoiding the gym and sticking to walking.

My goals this past week were to earn the Apple New Year’s badge, and to make inroads in the Strava Lululemon 40/80km challenge. For the latter, you have two weeks to complete either goal, but it has to be done outside—no treadmills! Because of the blizzard, the roads and sidewalks were in bad shape, so I’m hoping to put in 25km this week.

How was your week?

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24 replies

Latest reply was from Barbara Diane

Anonymous

I got myself a Fitbit for Christmas, and it's great to have these little reminders to step away from the computer or TV and get up and MOVE. I have been jogging around the house so I'll get my 10,000 steps. (It's harder than I thought to get up to 10,000.) I'm looking forward to a fitter year in 2018.

P.S. In the interest of fashion, I got a gold bracelet accessory to use with the Fitbit for dressing up!

Style Fan

Veteran

Last week was challenging because of the weather but I did manage to go to 2 Yoga classes. The Yoga Studio in town was closed for a few days so I missed some days. I didn't meet my goal of 10,000 steps a day because of the extreme cold. Sophie (my dog) is not in great shape so Mr SF and I have to take turns going out. What all that means is going to the gym to walk is not an option. Here is hoping this week is better.

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

SF--Hugs to you and Sophie Gradfashionista--I hope you're feeling better! I just thought about it--you gotta be pretty consistent to get 80km in two weeks! (Especially in Winter.)

Staysfit

Veteran

My big health goal at the moment is to get at least 7 hours of sleep, in addition to my usual fitness routine. I had been skimping on sleep in October and Novemberso I could study for my specialty board 10 year recertification. Then I was stressed out thinking I may not have done well, so I lost more sleep until the scores arrived. I did well. Now, I have poor sleep habits! So, I managed to sleep 6.5 hours most days last week, plus two days I totaled 7. Pilates 5 days, and walked on my treadmill 4 days. I have a huge knot in my piriformis muscle that is slowing my running, but I managed 30 mins slow on the treadmill this morning. I’m doing lots of hip flexor stretches and Yoga pigeon pose.

Runcarla

Veteran

My gym buddy, DS#2, gifted me with my own squash ball, Thera bands, and a new roller for Christmas. Previously I had been using his kit for myofascial release work. I’ve been on the squash ball every night for MY periformis!

Scaled down workouts every other day - we are on ‘de-load’ and have discussed not getting frustrated by the increased number of gym goers vying for equipment and space! The crowds will thin out in 2 months, if not sooner.

Nutrition has been good over the holidays and reducing caffeine (opting for herbal tea after 12 noon) is helping with sleep hygiene.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

We were planning on a couple Disney days (= lots of walking) last week, but it was just too cold. My gym buddy canceled, and I wasn’t motivated enough to get there on my own. I keep saying I’ll work out at home—I have a weight bench and a suspension trainer—but I’ve once again gotten through enough of the day without doing it that I doubt it will happen.

Tomorrow I should go to yoga and Wed my gym partner and I are meeting up again.

ETA just found out my son’s new schedule means basketball for him tonight at 7:30. It’s at the Y, so I can swim while he practices. And then I’ll go to yoga Thurs morning. He took the bus into school today, says he’s going to do it every day. That would make my life so much better!

chirico (Chiara)

(website)

Veteran

I have been slowly re-starting to exercise at home, in the morning. Plus, tonight I am going to try a new yoga studio (the old one where I went last year only offers Pilates now...). Hope I like it, I really miss yoga!

MsMary

Veteran

Lovely Husband and I started at Whole30 30-day diet on Jan 2 and so far it's going well. Scale is down a bit but that's from a very high post-holiday number so I'm not patting myself on the back too much just yet.

Exercise has been a little hit or miss but last week I did two sessions with LH and our trainer plus two Orange Theory classes plus a bike ride on Sunday, so that was all a win!

Anonymous

Going to the gym in a bit. Lower back feels almost at 100% and I can touch my toes and even place palms on floor. (My lower back spasmed on Christmas morning while making the bed. Go figure!) Pigeon pose a bit tighter on the right so glute not entirely loosened up yet.

Gym was closed last Thursday due to weather and my trainer is not available on Fridays so I spent the weekend exercising at home once my migraine dissipated (some weights, yoga, and running up and downstairs - I think I did a total of 25 flights on Sunday). My recumbent bike died after more than 10 years, but I still have a treadmill and with the gym membership I probably will not replace it, though I am tempted to a get a rowing machine, now that I really love it (hated it when I first started).

Anonymous

Back at it this week- although I have been hammered somewhat by a cold or the flu. In and out of bed and off and on the Advil. This recent holiday break was the most self -indulgent it's ever been - not sure why I was so cavalier about it. Life is short etc? Anyways, a break definitely helped with my tennis elbow and tight traps, and my upper body feels much , much better now. Hope to be able to sustain that feeling. Looking forward to making one hot yoga/week part of my routine ....really liking how it's helping strengthen my feet and ankles, never mind the pleasant and quiet hour.

Dianna

Veteran

I hope to be back at the gym tomorrow, I tried today, but I did not feel well, and slept for two hours after work, after being sleep deprived during the holidays.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Finally got my butt in the gym last night, could hardly lift my rubber arms afterwards to wash my hair. That’s a good thing! We were supposed to leave early for my son’s BB practice so I could get in the pool before it closed, but we failed. So I used the hour to lift—arms, lats, chest, shoulders (front, side, and back heads)

MsMaven

Veteran

Work on my goals came to a halt a week ago when I came down with the cold my dh passed on to me. The last six months have been quite a challenge. We've eaten the last piece of chocolate, sworn off alcohol for a couple of months, and now I intend to stay away from sugar. I didn't gain too much over the holidays, but then this cold seemed to make me hungry.

For the first time in weeks I managed a few stretches and some crunches on my exercise ball. Not much, but it's a start. I still feel somewhat fatigued and overall yucky.

Thanks for starting the thread. When I feel better I intend to post about body changes with aging, exercise, and adapting fashion choices to new realities.

Anonymous

I've just booked an appointment (first ever) with a nutritionist. Has anyone ever used one? I am laughing at how hard I had to work to get my ego out of the way to do this - lol! I saw a new doctor today - hopefully my permanent one now- and when I mentioned not being able to lose weight despite having a clean diet and fairly consistent exercise program, she recommended a personal trainer and a nutritionist. She's about 32 , so what experience she has with middle-aged health issues is unclear, but I decided to tuck my ego under my arm and go for it.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

WOW. You're doing awfully well. Feel better soon if you're ill. Wrap up and take care.

Style Fan, sending healing thoughts to Sophie.

Lisa, nutritionists are great from what I've heard from friends and family. It can't hurt.

Until I got tummy flu four days ago, I was doing really well taking more challenging heated vinyasa classes four to five times a week. I threw in a bit of spinning - which I do enjoy - but my body, mind and spirit feel soooo much better after an intensive yoga class, that I've decided to stick with that. I also walk a lot, but have been laying low this week. Unhappy Sam.

Runcarla

Veteran

Lisa p, the family practice clinic that I belong to has a nutritionist and I met with him for help with my gastro issues (esophageal dysmotility - say that 3 times fast!) He was great, non judgemental, and provided easy and practical advice/solutions.

-6 small meals, rather than 3 bigger ones (I still eat family meals but smaller portions. It takes me a long time to eat anyway.)
-protein with every meal
-no eating 3-4 hours before bed

My issues are different then yours. I wanted a solution to the gastric upset that was becoming chronic. I can only suggest that you keep an open mind and see what you might learn, and maybe share with us on this weekly thread.

Anonymous

*falls off spin bike * ....Angie in a spin class? I must be feverish .

Carla - yes , an open mind is what I have . I can think I know everything there is about nutrition , but I think I can benefit from someone who can show me how to put into practice the things I don’t do - like meal planning and figuring out macros in regards to what this body needs .

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Lisa, HAH. Fun to surprise you I used to be a big spinner, and spin with cyclists in a cycle lab. I don't enjoy gym environments, so going to spin at a gym was not on. So I gave up spinning when we came to the US. But my new yoga studio offers "Spin- Yoga Flow" classes, which I've done. I enjoy it. But not as much as a pure Vinyasa class. My body gets more out of a challenging yoga class, so I suspect I will stick with that. The yoga teachers at my new studio are AMAZING. I need to milk it while I can.

Carla, I'm another who eats six meals a day - 3 proper meals and 3 snack meals. Sticking to three does not work with as well with my body. High five.

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

Back after a while! I am sticking to my healthy routine and going on long daily walks. I was doing Zumba 5 days a week as well as Gym 6 days a week until September. And then I REALLY started to experience adrenal fatigue. It was just too much for me and I have decided to be gentler with my body.

Lisa P, I was in a similar boat as you. I was working out twice a day, eating clean, and still not dropping ANY weight. At all. The scales didn’t budge for 11 months. I finally accepted I am certainly doing something wrong for my body type and saw a naturopath + nutritionist. Turns out I WAS doing things wrong. And even though I was showing NONE of the classic signs of hormonal imbalance, that is exactly what was going on. I have modified my diet (and I eat 4 times a day), started taking a few simple supplements, cut back on vigorous workouts, dialed back on stress and lost 7kgs since. Without doing a lot else. So you never know....a nutritionist may be just what you need to figure out what’s not working out for you. Good luck!

SF - please take care of yourself & Sophie

Get well soon, Gradfasionista

Angie - I strive to be more like you. Give my body healthy nutrition without depriving it of anything, regular gentle workouts that work for me, and truly LOVE my body. I love seeing your food posts on Instagram.....they make me drool

RunCarla - you give me GOALS!!!! I am blown away by how fit & fantastic you are!!!

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Looks like everybody is starting off the year on a right foot!

I’m also surprised by Angie’s love of spin! Glad you found a new studio with enjoyable classes. Just curious, with three meals and three snacks, what does a typical meal and snack consist of?

Lisa, nutritionists can be super helpful as long as they follow developments in the literature. Depending on the program, nutritionists can still be taught outdated approaches (e.g. emphasizing a low fat + whole grain diet for diabetics), so it really depends on the nutritionist in question, how they were trained, and whether they feel confident to deviate from conventional but faulty wisdom when necessary.

Maneera, was it an issue with cortisol? It’s amazing how bodies respond to stress, even when we engage in activities that are supposed to be good for us. Hooray for finding balance.

Anonymous

Hi Manny - nice to see you back! Interesting results - dailing back on stress is one of those things that are easier said than done though. Life cannot always be controlled. How were your hormonal imbalances identified ? Through blood tests?

GF - I totally agree that the nutritionist is only as good as how up to date they are - and that's one reason I have never made use of one. I read as much as they do .

Sal

Veteran

I enjoyed reading this last night. Thanks for starting the thread. Some great work

My health related goals for the year are
- continue my three gym sessions a week
- build up to run a 10km race (currently doing about 4km twice a week)
- use my fit bit to monitor activity - there are days when a 1km walk is better than nothing....
- making sure my meals are nutritious
- reducing packaging waste - I try really hard here but have so much scope for improvement.

anne

Veteran

Hope you are feeling better GF, Lisa and Ms Maven. Greeting from hot Australia, where I'm just at the tail end of three weeks plus off. Back to work on Wed next week. I've been pretty lazy!

Like Staysfit, I have been trying to sleep more as I also got into bad habits during a busy period at the end of last year. I think I'm doing better now. Also have almost weaned myself back off coffee (I don't even like coffee, but was using it to stay awake)

Last week I did a 12km fun run, one interval session (5 x1km) and a parkrun (5km). That's all. I have not been doing my holiday plan of online pilates and planks every day (tried a plank at home, held it for about 10 seconds only!)

Tried to go sugar and grain free this week and lose some weight. Started well but have not kept it up. Too tempting to also decide to take out each of my daughters separately out for a treat and "mummy special time"!

Aims for this year

Do a triathlon
Achieve my goals for 10km and 5km times (I'm within a minute of them)
Improve core (I have a bad tendency to run out of time before doing any core exercises)
reeducate myself to not overeat and to stop at 80% full. This will be by FAR the hardest.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Hum, I think I need to take that idea of walking, even if it’s a really short walk. Even for the fresh air.