Liza

[liza3]

I'm so happy the bike visit went great and that you have a great person helping you with your bike now! I think I may try to find a yoga person on YouTube who does sessions with body awareness in mind. I remember my first yoga teacher really talked a lot about holding stress in and it suddenly releasing sometimes after a year of solid yoga practice, and she also worked a lot with us about being in our bodies and really paying attention to how all the stretches felt so we could adjust properly and be safe, but also just for body awareness reasons.

I would also love to get back into yoga. Maybe I should look for a class here. i find them generally kind of expensive but would be nice if I could find a good teacher to point out things I am doing wrong. i really want to start focusing more on strength and flexibility in general. I went to my Physio appt yesterday and asked her about starting to include more stuff like that and she seemed to think it was ok to do as long as I listened to my body with it and backed off when it seems a bit much.

Ah, that I absolutely do get! Especially when it's calorie-dense, delicious food my brain does not want to admit that I could possibly be full...
Great to hear your bike shop experience was a positive one. Fingers crossed your back will be happier now.

I sure hope so with the bike...It's so hard to know if it was even partly to blame as I would never get pain during or even right after the ride--I just had the sense that I was reaching too far. Anyhow we'll see how it goes. My appt with the physio yesterday was so encouraging--she was loving see the increase in strength and flexibility. She tweaked my exercises again to keep up the challenge too.
It'll be interesting to see what happens now as I slowly add in the walk-runs and cycling.

I'm glad the bike guy was so helpful & kind. I hope the adjustment does the trick. It sounds like you had a good day overall

It is so nice to have had such a good encounter at the bike shop. I don't think I'll be nervous going back there again.

I just had a feeling you'd have a good time at the bike shop!

lol. yeah you probably see my usual pattern. Nervous/anxious about all the people-y things and then surprise, surprise, most people are actually pretty nice!

So yeah, yesterday a good day in all. Really good to get that feedback from the physio, spring is really coming on now and I'm feeling pretty optimistic about getting back to more walk-runs and some cycling and gardening...
Also went to another one of my social things yesterday too and didn't feel as nervous going in and really enjoyed it again.
Very nice to be mixing with some new people.

I was pretty exhausted by the evening and then I get the after-effect of anxiety, but did pretty good with it and made myself eat a proper protein packed dinner and let myself just laze on the couch. Feeling good this morning.

Walk-1 hour
protein 94%
carbs-107%
calorie deficit-180

 

[Llama]

My appt with the physio yesterday was so encouraging--she was loving see the increase in strength and flexibility. She tweaked my exercises again to keep up the challenge too.

I'm so glad to hear that! You've been on such a positive path lately, despite the anxiety.

 

[Cate]

So yeah, yesterday a good day in all. Really good to get that feedback from the physio, spring is really coming on now and I'm feeling pretty optimistic about getting back to more walk-runs and some cycling and gardening...
Also went to another one of my social things yesterday too and didn't feel as nervous going in and really enjoyed it again.
Very nice to be mixing with some new people.

Life does sound so good for you at the moment, Liza

 

[Marsia]

I really appreciate your insight about being all peopled out when you get home, and having anxiety come up then. I think that happens to me, too, and it's nice to have that put into words and acknowledged. So glad you are enjoying your social events and that the pt is really going great!

 

[Emilyrose]

lol. yeah you probably see my usual pattern. Nervous/anxious about all the people-y things and then surprise, surprise, most people are actually pretty nice!

I find that if you are a nice and kind person, which you definitely are, people tend to respond positively to that!

I was pretty exhausted by the evening and then I get the after-effect of anxiety, but did pretty good with it and made myself eat a proper protein packed dinner and let myself just laze on the couch. Feeling good this morning.

Fantastic Liza!

 

[liza3]

I'm so glad to hear that! You've been on such a positive path lately, despite the anxiety.

Life does sound so good for you at the moment, Liza

Thanks! yes life is feeling pretty good for sure!
I do feel a lot of it too is about being able to cope with the anxiety better (probably a lot to do with the increase in meds)

I really appreciate your insight about being all peopled out when you get home, and having anxiety come up then. I think that happens to me, too, and it's nice to have that put into words and acknowledged. So glad you are enjoying your social events and that the pt is really going great!

Yes that after-effect is really predictable for me. So much so, that sometimes I feel off if it doesn't hit--I'm trying to stay open to the idea that maybe I don't have to feel exhausted and anxious just because I socialized more, but it will probably take my body-mind some time to learn that.

I find that if you are a nice and kind person, which you definitely are, people tend to respond positively to that!

thanks! Very true about most people responding kindly when you are kind to them!

official weigh in-139, so no changes there which is fine.

I am hoping that this week will see the start of a new fitness schedule for me. i want to get into a good rhythm that includes walk-runs or cycling 3 days a week, and then PT/yoga 3 days a week. So will try and work out what that will look like today. Today should include the walk-run as I like Saturdays for my longer walk days. And I am just thinking now that maybe at first I will try and include a small/gentle bike ride on my PT days so as to be able to build back up slowly to proper bike rides...and then of course I will need to include gardening somewhere in all of that...we'll see how it all works out, but hoping for something like:

Sat, Mon, Wed-walk-run
Sun, Tues, Thurs-pt and bike or garden

I would like the pt days to start to expand more to include yoga and back to arm strengthening with resistance bands, a lot of which I have dropped lately while focusing more on core and hip stuff.

In terms of aiming for calories--I am going to continue to try and log at least 3 days a week, aiming for a deficit, but no big goals around losing weight, just so long as I am not regaining at this point.

Yesterday was pretty positive all round:
Walk-45min
protein-72%
carbs-123%
calorie deficit-180

 

[Cate]

Another good day
You have inspired me to organise a new fitness schedule, Liza.

 

[Marsia]

I love the sound of your new schedule, so many areas that feel so good to get flexible and strengthened! It's nice how you are tracking, but not every day. That seems like a good way to train yourself as to good portion sizes for maintaining - I hope so anyway!

 

[liza3]

Another good day
You have inspired me to organise a new fitness schedule, Liza.

That's great. I love fitness schedules--I tend to follow them well and I love to see the progress i make if I follow it steadily.

I love the sound of your new schedule, so many areas that feel so good to get flexible and strengthened! It's nice how you are tracking, but not every day. That seems like a good way to train yourself as to good portion sizes for maintaining - I hope so anyway!

That would be really ideal if I don't have to count everything all the time....we'll see how it goes!

Yesterday was another good day. I didn't get my walk-run session in though. I decided to go on a mini day trip which meant carrying a bag of stuff, which would have made any running awkward (I did try and yep was way too lumpy haha) But the day-trip was lovely...As I say it was only a mini one, so I bussed out to some public gardens and spent a good amount of time there, before walking back. So yeah really not that far away since i could walk back haha (just shows how little I get out for any sort of distances!) The walk back was great though as I wasn't sure about some trails linking up so it was a bit of an experiment. I figured if I was wrong I could always go back and get the bus back home again. But the trails linked up really nicely and it was a beautiful long walk back. I am a little wary of bears waking up for spring especially the idea of encountering mamas with their young to protect, but didn't see any thankfully
It was a good amount of walking, but not too much. The weather was just beautiful for it too.

I am hoping to make trips out to those gardens a fairly regular thing. I actually used to volunteer out there some years back, so that could be a possibility too, but for now even if I can just visit more regularly that would be good. i get inspired for my garden when I go out there.

Ate well. Connected onling with the family. Got laundry done and the kitchen cleaned and to bed nice and early.

walk-maybe about 2.5 hours? hard to say with all the sitting down thrown in as well!
physio-short session
protein-84%
carbs-112%
calorie deficit 500 (?) again hard to say since unsure how much walking i really did, but close enough.

 

[Llama]

Finding new walking routes is always a good thing! I'd hate to have to worry about bears though

 

[Cate]

What a lovely day, Liza Gardening is just a great way to get incidental exercise. Going out there more often would be nice. Are you considering going back there to do volunteer work? Bears would scare me too

 

[Marsia]

The mini day trip sounds so nice, and so glad you didn't run into any bears, too ! Are the gardens community gardens or more like a public arboretum or community park with flowers? It sounds really nice to volunteer at something like that!

 

[liza3]

Finding new walking routes is always a good thing! I'd hate to have to worry about bears though

haha yeah bears are good to be careful around. I actually feel mostly grateful to have them around--it feels so special and they are mostly such nice beings to share a forest with. But yeah a healthy respect for their space is important especially at certain times of the year. I am especially more wary on the trails used less by people and their dogs as it would be easier to surprise them then.

What a lovely day, Liza Gardening is just a great way to get incidental exercise. Going out there more often would be nice. Are you considering going back there to do volunteer work? Bears would scare me too

I will consider it--I would like to add some volunteer stuff into my life and that is one place that would be a possibility. I had quit going out there as it is a bit far to have it convenient to get to, but it would be good if I volunteered there again as it would have me getting there regularly and it's a beautiful space to be in.

The mini day trip sounds so nice, and so glad you didn't run into any bears, too ! Are the gardens community gardens or more like a public arboretum or community park with flowers? It sounds really nice to volunteer at something like that!

The gardens is a mix--lots of demonstration areas showing different types of plants and where they like to grow, ponds, different trees, lots of natural areas, and then a veggie garden that grows food for local charities. That's the section I volunteered with. If I did go back to volunteer I would like to maybe learn more about the other sections...

Well yesterday was lovely. Got my bike out for a bit of a ride. I mostly did the gentle route but included 2 challenge hills with it. I need to build back that strength for the hills and do it without harming my back. My back did feel a bit tight when I got back so made sure to do some stretches and I will have to be sure to stay focused on that both when I return from running and cycling.

I didn't track my food yesterday and it actually feels a little scary (?) when I don't...i don't know if scary is the right word but when I log my food it feels so reassuring to see what the numbers are and where I am at, but yeah it is good practice to not log it in every day and try and trust myself to eat well without the numbers telling me what's going on.

 

[Llama]

haha yeah bears are good to be careful around. I actually feel mostly grateful to have them around--it feels so special and they are mostly such nice beings to share a forest with.

That's a beautiful way of seeing it. I refuse to even walk past the highlander cows that live in some of our forests to keep open areas open.

The gardens is a mix--lots of demonstration areas showing different types of plants and where they like to grow, ponds, different trees, lots of natural areas, and then a veggie garden that grows food for local charities. That's the section I volunteered with. If I did go back to volunteer I would like to maybe learn more about the other sections...

That sounds delightful!

 

[liza3]

That's a beautiful way of seeing it. I refuse to even walk past the highlander cows that live in some of our forests to keep open areas open.

That sounds delightful!

I actually find our cows intimidating as well because they can just stand in their herds and stare at you. Those highlander cows look beautiful but with those horns I would be staying far away too!
Also, bears generally will not want to have an encounter either so they stay away and don't try to greet you on the trails

So yesterday was good. Did my walk-run. I am up to the 2min jog-1 min walk 5 times. So far so good for no pain.
Did a little bit in the garden as well. I think I am giving up on the pond idea for now as I don't really want to cat proof another area and don't want to have critters set up for an attack. i may revisit the idea later on though. For now I will set up a bird bath up off the ground so hopefully the birds won't be easy prey.

I ate well most of the day but then in the evening I just felt that super hungry feeling and just kept eating. I lost count of how many calories but pretty sure I would have been well-over maintenance, but just really felt like I needed it.

 

[Llama]

The birds will be grateful for a place to drink and bathe. Do they have a thick bush or something to fly into and hide when a cat or bird of prey comes along?

 

[Cate]

Hi, Liza. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds cows intimidating
Setting up a bird bath is a wonderful idea. We get so many birds come to ours & they are a delight to watch. We get lots of little wrens, but also parrots & wattle birds. The little wrens love the safety of the shrubs around one of the baths & we have another that is in a more open spot that the bigger birds prefer. Do you have some large shrubs in pots that you could place nearby?

 

[Marsia]

Yay for no pain with the walk/runs! I really hope that keeps up and you are able to get back to running again! We put our birdbath where there were no low plants so the cats couldn't wait in hiding, but I had a potted Christmas tree next to it so the birds had something tall to quickly get to if needed, like Llama and Cate are saying. It worked really well, and there were no more cat sneak attacks after that. I think it'll be nice to have a low maintenance water element like a bird bath in your garden. Ours was where we could watch from our kitchen French doors, and it was magical. I hope you don't worry too much about one day of eating a lot. I think of it as more like mimicking the diets of other animals when I vary how much I eat and have a lot one day and skip some meals other days.

 

[liza3]

The birds will be grateful for a place to drink and bathe. Do they have a thick bush or something to fly into and hide when a cat or bird of prey comes along?

Yes that whole area has lots of bushes and a couple of trees where the birds like to hang out already so it seems a lovely area for them to have a birdbath there as well. The neighborhood cats like to hang out under the bushes too (especially in the heat of summer) so hopefully if the bath is up off the ground it will keep them all out of reach...

I kind of hate the look of the fencing around my veggie garden that i put up last year to keep the cats out of there so don't really want to add more fencing in general. I think I am going to try and improve the look of the fence around the veggie garden. I put it up in a bit of a rush last year and wasn't all that hopeful that it would actually keep the cats out, but it has worked, so now if i can just improve the look of it, then I can see about doing other areas to include a pond on the ground as well.

Hi, Liza. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds cows intimidating
Setting up a bird bath is a wonderful idea. We get so many birds come to ours & they are a delight to watch. We get lots of little wrens, but also parrots & wattle birds. The little wrens love the safety of the shrubs around one of the baths & we have another that is in a more open spot that the bigger birds prefer. Do you have some large shrubs in pots that you could place nearby?

That sounds so nice watching all the birds--makes me want to put one where I could see it outside my window as well...i have a little area where I could try that...

I hope you don't worry too much about one day of eating a lot. I think of it as more like mimicking the diets of other animals when I vary how much I eat and have a lot one day and skip some meals other days.

yeah I don't really worry too much about a day or two of overeating--it's more the pattern I will have to watch for as i can easily get into that habit. Last night I did it again...I didn't track my calories again so that can be a big part of it. If I don't see the numbers I just go back to eating as much as makes me feel good emotionally...

So yeah yesterday overate a little but mostly on nutritious food. I think it was a reaction to some extra stress these last couple of days.

No jogging or cycling yesterday as my morning was taken up with errands, but I do think the best schedule for me would be more like

walk/run or cycle-sunday and monday
rest-Tues
walk/run or cycle- wed and thurs
rest- fri
long walk -saturday

I think that makes more sense as I build up slowly with both the walk-runs and cycling--we'll see how that goes.
I won't be able to do that schedule today and tomorrow I don't think as i have some visitors coming so today and tomorrow will revolve around them. I am hoping to do a bit in the garden this morning, then pick up a few things for the visitors to have ready for this afternoon when they arrive. Probably won't be worrying too much about food intake while they're here either.

 

[Llama]

I hope you enjoy the company! I like that you're trying to pretty up the fence: I'm sure you'll find a way to make it fit in more.