Healthy renewal - new fitness goal

Congrats Freesia!!

Losing weight is so satisfying!!!! (ever see those bagel thins? not the same as a full bagel but almost as satisfying)

I did my excersise routine today hoping to do it at least 3 more times this week to get back on track.

Today met goals: weights this morning and walked with dogs this afternoon.

Not sure when I'll be able to log on again this week so it may be a bit given that Dad's surgery is tomorrow. Hopefully will be able to continue progress though being at the hotel. Wishing everyone the best with their goals this week and good care meanwhile!

I hope your dad's surgery goes/went well!!

Thank you for the well wishes!

Surgery seems to have gone well and the first two days were rough but he is doing really well now, so much so they are thinking of sending him home tomorrow with physical therapy and occupational therapy on a home health basis. It just blows my mind, brain surgery 3 days ago and going home in 4. The real work begins then and monitoring as he cannot be left alone; some things will be changing with my schedule and will have to get help to come in so I can get to the store and appointments, let alone have to see about continuing with classes.

Meanwhile I have spent my waking moments at the hospital but when he sleeps, I do the hospital stairs or have been walking outside. By the time I get back to the hotel in the evenings, I am too emotionally worn out and drained to do anything else, falling asleep immediately. I'm not sure what this will mean for the routine at home if cannot leave him at the house to walk or bike, perhaps he will want to come (or not) but will have to figure something out. I am just so grateful his mind is good and he is relatively functioning. Feeling very grateful.

It is great to be back. Dad is doing well but have to stay with him to monitor for the time being. Doc said he should start walking but not alone, of course, as tolerated and build up over time so it will be good to do it together.

It was so very nice to be home and with the dogs. It is so much more peaceful here and right now can use some of that. We walked this morning and will again today, but am worn out so may take it a bit easier. I think it is more emotional fatigue than physical though so it might be good to do more, we'll see.

Hope this finds all well and that the steps you are taking towards your goals are going well; little steps or big ones, all make a difference.
Thanks again for the support.

Fresia, I'm so glad your dad is home and doing well! That's great news! I agree that walking with him will be good, building up strength and everything. Don't put too much pressure on yourself right now. Your main goal is to take care of yourself, both mentally and physically, and also be there for your dad. If you don't get everything done in one day, don't beat yourself up for it. Just be gentle with yourself. This situation isn't going to be permanent. In time, you'll be able to get your old routine back.

I think I've changed my goal a bit. Having my husband home for a week, we went on a lot of runs. More distance, more frequently than I had ever done, and I think it really wore me out. Plus I took my first hot yoga class, and I'm honestly still a little sore. My anxiety actually makes yoga very difficult for me. I get very perfectionistic and worried about people watching me. But I think it would be good for me. I have a friend that wants to be a yoga instructor, so I might ask her for some help. My main focus this week is going to be on school work -- a 5-7 page research paper due Sunday, and a biology exam Monday.

Being behind in school, I too will be focusing on classes this week. Am so far behind, it's scary.
I wish you well with your paper and on your Bio exam! Good luck!

I know what you mean about being self conscious with yoga class and the perfectionism. I managed to take some classes at one point to understand technique and then opted for home videos to use instead. I don't know what the difference is between hot yoga and say hatha, bikram, etc.(?). I will have to look that up.

So I am dreading the weigh-in next Monday. The hotel and hospital had such good food, yes, the hospital too shockingly and inexpensive too, which most surprised me. Made some good choices mostly but was tempted way to often with some not so good choices more days than I care to admit. They sure were delicious though. It will be curious to me if I managed to balance it all out.

Goals today:
I did weights this morning as with the single digits outside, I am not awake enough yet to brave that. We will walk later today.

Don't worry about the weigh-in. Think of those food choices as necessary comfort food during a trying time. It wasn't a permanent change, you haven't fallen off the wagon. You're still doing great. Think of the overall pattern of improvement you've got going on.

Thank you! I do think my wagon has lost its wheels but that is a whole other story at this point.

I was inspired by your yoga class and did one of mine at home. I had completely forgotten that I had that and given we are in the single digits this morning and also for stress relief, it was so refreshing but also know I will be feeling this tomorrow. Which will work out as we have to go to the doc out of town tomorrow, it will be a long day and hard to get in other workouts, so it will be a good recovery day.

Goal for the rest of today: walks, short one(s) with Dad and a longer one later.
Goal for tomorrow: walks

I mentioned to my husband about getting yoga videos. I have some pilates videos, but I think they do more harm than good. I get my muscles all tense, and then don't know how to properly relax them again.

I don't know much about yoga. All I know is hot yoga is done in a hot room. The one I did was in 95 degrees, but I think they do a bit higher and a bit lower. The reason I want to do hot yoga is to help me relax and stretch. Which is part of the reason I'm wary about doing home videos cause I can't exactly make my house 95 degrees with an electric heater... I find regular yoga just plain uncomfortable because of how tight I am.

I'm taking the week off from running to recover (okay, I probably don't need the whole week..) but it's really cold outside and I'm really busy... So I'll just run in the rain on the weekend to make up for it At least we haven't hit single digits.. yet....

Thanks for explaining the hot yoga as have not had a chance to look it up. It is good to take the time to take it easy and recover. How did your paper and bio exam go?

Dad has taken a turn for the worse, went to the ER at 11:00 last night, and has been admitted to the hospital. He has had a stroke, plus the have found a mass in his lung plus some other things. They think it may be a metastasis. I got about 3 hours of sleep in the wee hours of this morning once he was settled in the special care unit and just got back from biking with the dogs. I so needed the physical stress relief; it is too bad it did not take the fears and worry away too. The shock has worn off now and feeling a bit overwhelmed but one step at a time.

No other goals today. Playing it by ear now as heading back to the hospital.

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that! I hope they can get everything straightened out so he can go back home. Strokes are scary things, but they don't mean the end of the world. My father-in-law has been through I think two of them (before my husband and I were serious, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details). But he's still alive and kicking! Keep up hope! They're taking good care of him. I know it's hard not to worry, but just remember to take good care of yourself. It's good you went for a bike ride with your dogs. Don't forget to eat!

My exam isn't until Monday. I've reviewed everything once, and plan on studying for a few hours on Sunday. My essay also isn't due until 11:55 Sunday night (online class). I spent the week trying to find research for it. Last night I finally solidified my thesis and today I started writing it. One page down, two to go (single spaced, it feels more gratifying to write it single spaced then double space it at the end and be wowed by how many pages I actually wrote )

Keep taking good care of yourself and keep your spirits up! Sending lots of warm, positive thoughts your way!

Things are improving on one hand and worse on the other. He has hemorrhagic conversion disorder, which happens in 6-10% of stroke patients, diversion of blood flow causing bleeds. Monday he will have a test to see whether the bleeding in his brain has stabilized to know whether he can come out of ICU or must remain. Interesting fact, as our brains shrink with age, if there is a bleed, they don't have to operate to relieve the pressure in older patients as there is room to accommodate the bleed and the brain does an outstanding job of absorbing/destroying the blood it turns out. Whereas with younger patients, there is no room and they would have had to operate. However, the good news is that he can move/use his left leg now and can sort of move his left arm now, which is so much better than the paralysis. My brother and I have agreed to go in shifts now instead of together all day so we can get some things the rest of the day and Dad is not alone. My brother has school work to do and I have that too plus other things to do here at the house including taking care of the critters. Thank goodness his master program is an online program that he can do anywhere. I will work from home this morning. I will actually try to get some math homework done as am so far behind. This will help too for stress relief and keep a better balance.

It was nice this morning being able to take the dogs biking. I am actually at the stage now that I get energy from the exercise instead of being tired from it like I did at first; endorphins are kicking in thank goodness. I had heard about this but not sure I have ever gotten to this stage. However, my natural inclination with stress relief is to eat and stuff my face, so I got some gum and low cal hard candies instead to tied me over. It seems to be working. Hopefully it will show in the weigh-in tomorrow.

Goal tonight: to walk again

Good luck on your exam R.S. and thank you for your encouragement. It means a lot with these scary times!

I hope everyone's fitness goals are going well. Take good care meanwhile.

Walked last night and did Zumba this morning, that kicked my butt. I always considered myself coordinated until I do these classes; if you could see me, you'd be laughing at/with me too as I look like a drunken monkey. Meanwhile, I try pathetically.

No other goals today, hospital this morning and classes all afternoon and evening, which I wasn't going to go to then my brother reminded me how disappointed my Dad would be. So I am going with hesitation but leaves no time for anything else.

Goals tomorrow: weights and to walk or bike.

Weekly weigh-in this morning: 2.9 lbs

I've never tried zumba. I was a ballet dancer and these just weren't made to move like that

I'm glad you're going to class. Even though it's hard and doesn't leave you any free time for yourself, you'll be keeping your mind occupied so you're not worrying so much. Worrying won't really do anyone any good, whereas going to class does a lot of good.

Turned in my essay last night and took my exam this morning! In the home stretch of the semester! I think everything went okay. Tomorrow I'm going to go for a run.

Keep your head up, you're doing a great job during this really trying time!

So ended up not going to class yesterday or today due to a migraine yesterday that couldn't drive with and used today to get caught up in math, get caught up on LOTS of other stuff, some down time/recovery time, will meet with the tutor this afternoon, and to the hospital this evening. I so needed this time as am starting to feel like a whole and functional person again; definitely feeling renewed.

Biked this morning, took the dogs for a walk, and will walk again this evening.

I'm sorry to hear about the migraine! I hope you're feeling better! Sometimes we need a rest day, and it sounds like yours was still productive. I'm glad you're feeling like a normal person again

I made my goal today -- went for a run. It was a short one (2 miles ish) and I felt terrible for probably the first mile and a half. But I haven't been running in over a week and you have to start again somewhere.

Good for you in getting out there! Did you find yourself sore or stiff afterwards in taking that time off? I noticed that in just taking three days off at one point, then started again, I was so stiff and somewhat sore afterwards. I needed a hot bath to soothe the muscles. However, I am not in as good a shape either.

So I did nothing yesterday, confusion about Dad's care, and an argument with the insurance which was futile. He has been transferred to an inpatient facility meanwhile though the hosp still considers him critical. He will get better therapies there though on the road to recovery. Argggh, I wish I could be excited about this but given what the hosp said, I don't know that this is good news and not good for stress level so this morning I took it out on the bike: by myself, no dogs, hit the road, for several miles. It was nice, no cars, the smell of the fresh grass damp with dew, by moonlight, the stars still out, and saw a raccoon and babies, and a porcupine. Still angry but not as tense.

Goal today: weights, walk later with the dogs.

My legs were sore yesterday and today. But I went for another short run today. Trying to get back in the habit. I had to walk both times when I used to just be able to plow right on through. It's a little disheartening. I try to talk about it with my husband, but I don't think he really understands or just doesn't know what to say. He has run all his life, co-captain of the cross country team in high school, just ran his first marathon in October.... So, when he takes a break, and then decides, hey, I'm going to go run a 5K! It's absolutely nothing to him. He can just show up to a race, run the whole thing, without having run in a year. But it does make him a pretty good training partner, even if I kind of sort of hate him while we're running...

I'm sorry things are so influx with your dad right now. Insurance is ridiculous. Personally, I think we should just completely get rid of it, stop charging exorbitant amounts of money, and start actually taking care of people -- doctors calling the shots, not insurance agents in plush offices in Connecticut. But I'm sure if we did that, all havoc would break loose....

It sounds like you had an excellent bike ride this morning! I love seeing wildlife. It's very calming. I really hope things get straightened out with your dad and he gets the best care he can and should be getting.

I just cannot imagine being able to do stop and start like that and would also worry about injury as well. That is great he can do that and you have someone you can workout with. It also would be nice to have that kind of flexibility with my body but know it would object. Just taking two more days off this week due to the things that came up, it was harder to get moving and couldn't go as far as normal also without having to rest AND then there were the after-effects that let me know as well of taking the time off. That last part alone I am now keeping in the back of my mind now to try and stay more consistent because I am not a fan of this no pain no gain stuff; more like pain, pain, stay away.

I only exercised a couple days this week and only made a couple more changes to the diet. So have I boosted my metabolism enough to continue burning calories with those weight bearing exercises or how much of a difference will missing so many days make? We shall see, da, da, da, dun.

Goal today: too cold to go outside so changed things up, dance exercise video this morning (attempt anyhow), and will walk or bike this evening.

Weigh-in: I lost 3.1 lbs this week. So it's true, weight bearing exercises to build muscles boosts metabolism because I took more days off than I exercised this week due to scheduling conflicts; I worked out on weights some of those days that I did actually work out. I am so relieved. Overall I know some of the weight is coming off because my jeans are looser and baggier; the seams on my shirts are not where they are supposed to be on my shoulders. All good signs, except the cost of a new wardrobe.

Single digits this morning and 20 mph winds, so despite wanting to go out will be holding off. Anyone else having a hard time getting out now with the weather changing this fall/winter? What are you doing to combat it and stay active?

It was miserable walking last night but necessary so.....
Goal today: weights, where it is nice and snuggly warm inside, and walking or bike later to add to the torture.

I am sore from the weights today so will just walk this morning and this evening. For curiosity tried on size smaller of the some clothes and was pleasantly surprised that could actually get into them. Have a few more to go but nice to see signs of progress.

It was lovely today into the high 50's, I say that despite the rain, the warmth was nice. Walked this morning and biked this afternoon meeting goals for today. Tomorrow a cold front is supposed to come back through so will see about activities but....

Goals tomorrow: zumba and walking.

If you are traveling, wishing you safe travels and no matter where you are tomorrow,
Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, having Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital with my Dad was nice just to be with him but worked out really well too because the portion sizes were a perfect and I don't have to mess with leftovers either, but will miss them. We will have a big dinner when he comes home though so there will be that then. Meanwhile, having a lighter Thanksgiving was nice.

Read an interesting bit of trivia: though most Thanksgiving lunches/dinners add up to about 4100-4300 calories, most people only gain about 1 lb, maybe 2 lbs from it. It always feels like so much more.

Stayed inside yesterday to do yoga being in the single digits again.

Goals today: weights and walking.

No goals today. With some setbacks with Dad, so many errands to run, need to be at the hospital, and am not in the mood to do anything else. I am declaring today a day off.