[Tart Cherry Jam]

there is a Habit Change forum but it is hardly read by anyone unlike this forum which is busy.

I can start. I am trying to find time to do strength training exercises recommended by my physical therapist but it is hard. In the morning I do not have time. After work I do have time but I am too tired. And my eyes are tired and itchy from staring at the computer screen all day long. I have just recently bought artificial tears and it is better with them but still. So I come home and... spend the evening at the computer, frittering away time and... staring at the screen MORE. I am too tired for the exercises but what I do with my time makes me only more tired, in a vicious circle.

[unaluna]

Count me in. Your participation in the tooth brushing is very helpful to me. Lets do this.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm in. I currently have 4 goals: 1) use prescription fluoride toothpaste every night 2) use waterpik with prescription mouthwash every morning 3)stick to 1200 or fewer calories per day 4) do a short Bible study daily. All of this is a struggle although I've done really well with the prescription toothpaste, probably because I have a toothache and can't get my crown until the 20th. But any and all of these are hard for me.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Let us do it! Thank you @unaluna and @BeyondtheRainbow. The mention of a short Bible study which is an intellectual pursuit reminded me that I, too, had some aspirations and I almost forgot about them while trying, unsuccessfully, to exercise. I should write out my entire list of goals. Right now:

- I am home and I used artificial tears which I keep in my car after I returned from work. I am not too tired and although I still cannot quite get my act together with the physical therapist-prescribed exercises, I will go to the little gym in this apartment complex to use a rowing machine while listening to an audiobook. I will report back when I return.

[unaluna]

Wait, what? Artificial tears you keep in your car? I dont think you should let them get too hot.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Originally Posted by unaluna

Wait, what? Artificial tears you keep in your car? I dont think you should let them get too hot.

ah, OK. Good point. I will bring them home.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

So I finally went, but not right when i wrote I would. I was still here an hour later to respond to the tip about keeping artificial tears in a cool spot. I was at the little gym at 9:10AM. But I got there! First, I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Not fast but with a 3.5% incline. Then I rowed for slightly under 20 minutes. Now I am home, will eat dinner, take meds and go to bed. Tomorrow I am taking a half day writing class online. I am excited about it.

I know I should be doing strength training exercises recommended by the PT, but when I am tired, doing cardio is better than sitting in front of the computer, even if doing cardio is worse than strength training. I hope to do strength training tomorrow when I am not tired after work, and on Sunday, too.

So not so bad!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I think today must be my start day.....I fell asleep last night before I used my prescription toothpaste or did my Bible study. I did fine with my calories. I still need to set up my waterpik. So 1/4. I'll do better tonight. I hope.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I did waterpik today, thinking of you.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I took a very good creative writing class in the morning and early afternoon. I went grocery shopping. I discarded some spoiled foods from the fridge, once again vowing to avoid food spoilage by cooking foods shortly after I buy them . Seriously, it may sound funny but is a real problem for me. But I AM doing better than before with that.

I am learning to make minestrone the Blue Zones way (Blue Zones are areas in the world where a lot of people live to and beyond 100 years of age). So I am now soaking dry garbanzos, dry white beans and dry kidney beans and tomorrow evening I will cook the soup.

I have used ChatGPT to learn how to clean sunglasses and am going to apply my knowledge today as my polarized sunglasses are so dirty that I can no longer wear them while driving.

I plan to clean the surfaces, sink and stove tonight because my friend will come tomorrow morning and we will go to an exhibition tomorrow and I want the kitchen and dining area to look good when she comes.

I have categorized my credit card transactions (I do it almost every day). I have formulated the question I have regarding why my Honda dealership tells me that I will soon need new tires whereas there are only 34K on the car, and posted it in my Facebook group. I have also posted asking for some stuff that I need in the local Buy Nothing FB group. In particular, I need a sturdy spray bottle for water to clean baked on bird droppings from my car (water is needed in addition to a car detail spray which I have already bought). Again, I asked ChatGPT how to remove bird poop from the car. I get a kick from talking to ChatGPT .

But I have not done my PT exercises. I have not been frittering away my time in front of the computer screen but have been procrastinating with the exercises. I think part of it is that it will take a lot of time to do all the exercises and they are hard. So I have an idea: I will make a YouTube list of energetic upbeat music and blast that music to jumpstart the exercise routine.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

The minestrone came out fine. I added riced cauliflower from Trader Joe's to make it more filling, more texturized, and healthier (cruciferous veggies appear to help prevent cancer plus, of course, more fiber). The texture is perfect, but I think I should season it better. The recipe called for pepper flakes, but I did not have them.

The sunglasses are absolutely clean now. I did not have to do the elaborate cleaning suggested by ChatGPT but just followed the instructions on my new Zeiss cleaner (recommended by ChatGPT so thanks, ChatGPT). It did not take me a long time and I plan to do it, say every 6 weeks or so. It is very pleasant to have absolutely clear vision.

I did three exercises out of six on Saturday. The fourth one was too difficult and after 2 sets out of 3, I stopped. I also did not even attempt 2 exercises that in the past I had found too boring (they take so long! in one of them, you have to raise each leg to do 10 leg circles, on each leg, and do 3 sets with 10 reps, for 600 circles total). And I did not do one new exercise which requires being outside because it was already dark. I was dripping sweat from that (and it took me about 45 minutes), so I took a shower which is always a win for me.

On Sunday I did stretches recommended by another physical therapist whom I had seen earlier (that one was for the repetitive stress injury in the hands which healed completely thanks to his exercises, so I am very thankful and want to continue doing them, if not every day, then at least a couple of times a week for upkeep) and I also went to Restorative yoga, which is very easy relaxing yoga.

I did not clean on Saturday because with the strength training I was busy till late, but I cleaned the surfaces and washed both sinks yesterday. I did not have time to sweep and mop the floors which are dirty.

This morning I did the exercises outside. They are actually not that difficult and, thank goodness, they are definitely not boring. I incorporated them into my morning walk, doing one set of 10 on each leg when I start, one set in the middle, and the last set right before I go home. I think this is workable, meaning I will be able to do it every day I have time to go outside for a walk (I usually do it after brushing my teeth). I later did another one (it is more balance than strength and it is not boring, either) that requires using a kitchen counter as I was preparing my breakfast. So, that is 2 exercises out of 6 for today.

As for the remaining PT exercises, two of the ones I did do on Saturday are not boring and I will do them, probably tomorrow. Doing them daily seems unrealistic. And I did not even realize how important for me it is to have exercise that are not dull and boring.

Right now I am going for a walk. I am not too tired for that but am too tired for strength training. But I figure, something is better than nothing and I would not be sitting in front of the computer screen.

[Soupe du jour]

Tart Cherry, it's a wonderful idea for a thread. Thank you!

The hardest first step in positive habit building is always realizing the issue. You have clearly done that. And as I read further and further along in this thread, I saw that you did so many great things this week. You deserve big credit for that. Even if the steps are small, they deserve kudos. We can't always do big things or a lot of changes all at once.

I'm not sure where the tooth brushing topic came from, but I also need to work on that. My ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) have been neglected too often. Frankly, there are days when I'm glad if I've brushed my teeth at least once. Many days I pat myself on the back that I took my morning and evening meds and on time. The latter activity is #1 priority for me.

I do a decent amount of housework and all of the cooking, and have been counting that as a bit of exercise. I know it's still not enough. I should at least add a bit more "deliberate exercise", as I call it. Even if it's just walking around the neighborhood.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

Tart Cherry, it's a wonderful idea for a thread. Thank you!

The hardest first step in positive habit building is always realizing the issue. You have clearly done that. And as I read further and further along in this thread, I saw that you did so many great things this week. You deserve big credit for that. Even if the steps are small, they deserve kudos. We can't always do big things or a lot of changes all at once.

I'm not sure where the tooth brushing topic came from, but I also need to work on that. My ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) have been neglected too often. Frankly, there are days when I'm glad if I've brushed my teeth at least once. Many days I pat myself on the back that I took my morning and evening meds and on time. The latter activity is #1 priority for me.

I do a decent amount of housework and all of the cooking, and have been counting that as a bit of exercise. I know it's still not enough. I should at least add a bit more "deliberate exercise", as I call it. Even if it's just walking around the neighborhood.

I have tagged you in https://mysupportforums.org/habit-ch...ml#post7348155 should you be interested.

Housework IS exercise! I have an Oura ring that counts my steps and traces my heart rate and tells me if I have met the daily activity goal. When I sweep and mop the floors, I see an activity. It is positively that. I agree that you also need deliberate exercise but do not discount housework. Regarding cooking, I can give you easy exercises that you can do while you are waiting for stuff on the stove or in the microwave. All of these exercises came from physical therapy recommendations. They allow you to kill two birds at once. Some of these exercises require timing, so I use my microwave's timer to time myself. I will be happy to describe them in detail: they are fun, in the end!

And yes, of course taking medications is the #1 ADL.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I listened to rock music and did 4 exercises from the physical therapist. One of them was boring and included 600 (!) leg circles. But music helped and I did it. It took me over 50 minutes. I was not too tired and could have continue but did not have extra time.

So our of 7 exercises, I did 4. I am supposed to do 6. This is not bad. And I am not sure the physical therapist realizes that I would need over an hour to do 6 exercises. I have found that some physical therapists assign more exercises than one realistically has time for.

[Soupe du jour]

Thanks, Tart Cherry Jam! I'd be quite appreciative for a share of your "during cooking" exercises.

I'll check out the tooth brushing thread.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I have not forgotten and will post the during cooking exercises when I have time (there are many of them). For now, this is an exercise that I was able to incorporate into my morning walk.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

How to do Lateral Step Downs. but in addition to lowering the non-supporting leg to the side, also curtsy to the other side with it.

I do 10 on each leg when I start the morning walk, 10 in the middle and 10 at the end. I have timed myself and it takes 9 minutes total and I count these as easy strength training and balance exercises. Balance is especially important as we grow older. Yes, it takes 9 minutes but I do them on the morning walk I do anyway so it does not create an extra thing to take of. It seems to be working for me.

I am going to do a rowing machine workout today while listening to an audiobook.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Originally Posted by Tart Cherry Jam

I am going to do a rowing machine workout today while listening to an audiobook.

I am really proud of myself today and also much relieved.

I am proud because I did a net 73 minutes on the rower (I subtracted the time to drink water and go to the restroom), covering the equivalent of 10 km! I was dripping sweat and my face was almost red. I drank a whole 1.5 l bottle of water with electrolytes and later I spent some time walking slowly to cool down.

I am relieved for two reasons. One, it was a true Zone 2 workout. If somebody wanted to talk to me, I would have barely been able to say a few words. And I know how important Zone 2 workouts are, but when I am walking on a flat surface or swimming, I simply cannot do any of that fast enough to get into Zone 2. So now I know that if I do rowing once a week, I will hit a minimum threshold for Zone 2. And, it is ultimately enjoyable though hard. My Oura ring showed my heart rate in the upper area of Moderate, just below High exertion. So I am happy.

The other reason I am relieved is that now that I have done that, I am actually looking forward to doing strength training tomorrow or on Wednesday for a change. It is the boredom of doing the same thing every day that prevents me from even trying. But I understand that the physical therapist is doing short term therapy and is looking for rapid improvement, which is why she is prescribing strength training every day. It is unrealistic for me, though. I will do what I can, alternating what I do, except for that easy morning walk strength and balance exercise that fits into my existing routine so well.

[JaneOnceMore]

I hope to start swimming three times a week.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Swimming is a fantastic sport. Unfortunately, I have never learned how to swim properly with the right technique and I swim sort of a slow breaststroke with my head above the water. I can also swim on my back by moving my legs only. This fall I plan to finally take individual swimming lessons to learn the technique for the proper breaststroke. Then I can hopefully swim a little faster.

[JaneOnceMore]

I was reading how ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) can be considered exercise. Since i've been neglecting mine, i decided i would get them under control before i pursue swimming. I have a heap of laundry to do and i haven't been showering regularly. If i do ADLs i accomplish something, rather than swimming, where those chores just remain neglected. To that end i took a shower tonight! I tried to do it mindfully instead of being in such a darn rush all the time in there. It's so niiiiiiiiiiiiiice to be clean and have fluffy hair! Aces!

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

Thanks, Tart Cherry Jam! I'd be quite appreciative for a share of your "during cooking" exercises.

I'll check out the tooth brushing thread.

Exercise number one:

You need to hold it for 30 seconds and do it 3 times on each arm. So, for the total of 3 minutes. You can do it while waiting for stuff in the microwave or while sauteing veggies.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

Next is

except that before doing it, make a fist. Same stuff, 30 seconds hold and 3 times on each arm.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

except I do it standing. I now have a habit of doing it once for 30 seconds after I use the restroom. You need a total of 3 times but of course I use the restroom more than 3 times a day.

[Tart Cherry Jam]

I love this exercise and I do it standing:

30 seconds hold

3 times on each side

Likewise, you can do it while cooking. I use my microwave as the timer.