Liza
- Thread starter liza3
- Start date
Yes I chose a video on youtube that I follow--there are a few on there. I'd never heard of it before my friend got me onto it either. I decided to give it a go for 2 weeks and then decide whether to continue with it. Two weeks are up now and I definitely will continue with aspects of it, even if I don't follow a video every time--there are a lot of elements in it that remind me of yoga and qi gong, so I may just take elements of them all and combine them into a stretching routine that works for me.
You probably wouldn't have the same issue with amino acids since you do eat meat. But yeah I do find the protein powder super helpful to give me a protein boost. I never thought I'd be a person who used protein powder!
I forced myself to do a song on the piano last night even though I was so tired--one song turned into 2 so I'm happy.
Was so happy with my day yesterday. I decided to just try and see how far I could get on the bike following my old route. I was actually a little nervous, both of just not being able to hack it, and also of over-doing things and hurting my back. I always tell myself I can just walk my bike up the steep bits, but I also know my tendency to push through things. Anyway, I did really much better than I thought I would. Made it up all the hills except one and that one was a challenge last year too, so not a big surprise. I had 2 different routes in mind that I could take and I ended up taking the longer one as I was really enjoying it. My leg muscles were really burning. I had to laugh at one section as I was struggling up a hill and a couple on electric bikes just go on by me. We were all laughing about it. A lot of people here use the electric bikes to assist them up the hills.
I made sure to actually stop and rest a few times. Just get off my bike and sit for a while and really assess whether I should carry on or not, and just to check in with my body. On the way back I actually locked my bike up at the Old Friends Trail and just had a lovely meander through there. That felt really good.
My back remained happy throughout the rest of the day and into this morning so I feel super encouraged by that.
bike-1 hour (?) i'm going to count it as about an hour of actual riding--really not sure how long I was out for
walk-1 hour
protein-96%
carbs-117%
calorie deficit--220
piano-15 min
It is nice to have a selection of different kinds of stretches, and now having more added. There is one movement in the essentrics video that I haven't encountered in yoga or tai chi/qi gong that seems to be really releasing a lot of tension/tightness from my back. So that one will definitely be an ongoing practice.
I did sleep well indeed. I still had some body tiredness the next day but just moved through the day gently and it all felt really good.
So yeah, yesterday I did a nice full session of both essentrics and physio. I guess I will go back to calling these my 'stretch and strength' sessions as I add in more movements from yoga and qi gong. I am still trying to work out how to include all the movement that I want to do without it taking up a whole morning. So I am just experimenting a bit with what to do when. At least now with my back feeling much more strong and flexible in general, I feel like it shouldn't be necessary to do such a full session of strengthening and stretching every day. I'm thinking more like, small sessions on my run/bike days, and then fuller sessions on the other days.
I got a nice bit of gardening done yesterday. The asparagus is peeking up so I weeded that bed to allow it to have more ease in coming through. That is always a nice garden treat to have.
I thought I ate mostly well yesterday but the protein count is low. I didn't eat at all in the evening besides a cracker with my meds so I guess I missed out on what would have been extra protein there.
Stretch and strength-1 hour
garden-1 hour
walk-45
piano-30
protein-48%
carbs-125%
calorie deficit-400
That's wonderful news that your stretch routine is working well and your back is feeling a lot better! It's great you can combine many practices into one so your stretch and strengthening doesn't take up the whole morning. It's lovely you are getting asparagus now. I really like the plants and how they leaf out and make lovely shade in the garden.
I am so happy the piano is remaining more consistent. Feels funny to include it in my fitness diary, but it does motivate me if I have told others my goal and report in!Your plan for stretch & strength exercises sounds good, Liza & a 400 deficit is excellent. It's nice to see some piano in there too
I feel so happy about the progress of my back. I can really feel all the flexibility returning again. I was getting so strangely stiff!
I love asparagus in all its stages as well. And it's such a nice crop as it needs so little work. Just seems to take care of itself once it's established.
Yesterday was lovely. Got out on my walk-run and it went well. I skipped a level in my schedule and i wasn't sure if it would be too much, but my back seemed totally fine with it both during and afterwards. I was able to get in on my trails a bit for the run as well--I really like adding in the trail portions with the roots and rocks and things to work around. Adds a little variety.
I overate on calories but did well for eating healthy foods and getting lots of protein in to make up for the other days lack of it.
Walk-run 1:3 x10 no pain
stretch and strength-30
additional walking time-50 min
piano-30
protein-100%
carbs-118%
calorie surplus-100
I definitely intend to stick to both strength and stretching exercises. I am even thinking of going back to PT every few months or so to continue tweaking things. But yeah I know how easy it can be to abandon strengthening for me...I will really have to be intentional about it.
Thanks! It is nice to already being feeling that joy of running again even at this level.
Yes I am really grateful to be feeling so much more flexible again. I know I've had yoga teachers in the past in their 70's with such lovely flexibility--my hope is to be like that.Yay for another lovely day & having such good flexibility. I miss that. Yay for 100% protein too. It all sounds good
Yesterday was good. Got into the garden in the morning and tidied one of the beds. I got irritated at the neighborhood cats again using that space as a place to do their business. I really don't want to have to fence off even more area...so I might just be resigned to it. I keep all those areas as covered as possible, but they use it anyhow. Maybe they are my spiritual teachers of how to remain equanimous even when things don't go as I would like...I don't grow food there at least, but still it's just gross to work there and come across that.
Food was generally good but I really am eating way too much sugar again on a regular basis. I think it's because I'm not so set on losing more weight. I could definitely benefit from losing more fat on my belly though and all that sugar just isn't good for me...
stretch and strength-1 hour
walk-30 min
garden-1.5 hours
protein-83%
carbs-129%
calorie deficit-100
Llama
Well-known member
That IS a good way to look at it but I definitely prefer teachers who don't poop on my stuff
If I ever manage to replace sugar with meditation I'll let you know but for now your sugar intake seems to be reasonably balanced between your mental and physical health.
Haha, there are lots of things in life that can teach us that! I always like cats in a yard, because they are keeping the vermin at bay. That's the way I look at it anyway.
Sorry you're eating more sugar than you would like but you are doing great in general, Liza. How lovely to be able to say you are happy with your weight! Lean into that more.
I would definitely prefer teachers who don't poop on my stuff too, but those irritating things in life are really so often the best teachers!That IS a good way to look at it but I definitely prefer teachers who don't poop on my stuff
If I ever manage to replace sugar with meditation I'll let you know but for now your sugar intake seems to be reasonably balanced between your mental and physical health.
I'm not sure about cat deterrent. So far I have just tried more physical things as a barrier. The fencing has worked really well. For the rest of it, I'm just trying to keep the ground covered as much as possible and then have areas around the house that I don't garden in left free for them in hopes they will make the better choice. I do wish cats were restricted in wandering as any other pet is though! I don't really get the theory behind letting them run free, considering all the issues with that.Does cat deterrent work, do you know? I would be tempted to try it. I would hate to encounter cat poo in the garden. Yuck!
I'm not sure if I could get my flexibility back, but I would love to! I think it has to be worked on constantly. You're doing well, Liza
That is definitely a positive about being generally happy with my weight. i do often feel so grateful for feeling physically fit to be able to enjoy so much activity too.
...I'm not sure vermin are a problem here...but that can be a positive I can try thinking about. I mostly get sad about them killing nice things like birds and garden snakes though...
Well I got to work on fixing up that garden fence yesterday. It's looking better but will take some more hours to get it right. It's nice work though. I am very grateful that that fence does keep the cats out of the food area at least. The whole space is looking better to me in general. I've been slowly making some small changes over the years that seem to be coming together nicely at this point. A really nice pathway that winds around the whole area, nice spots for sitting, some nice wild areas...I would like to figure out some rustic log benches for it as well...
I was actually supposed to go running in the morning but got caught up in the garden instead. So maybe will try for a run today, although I might get called back to the garden. The weather has been just perfect here lately to enjoy that sort of work, but i do want to keep some running in to keep up with the progress there. If I don't keep it up, I will have to go back a few spaces in the schedule again if I don't want to risk re-injury...which I don't!
I did pretty good at restricting sugar for much of the day, but caved just before bed. I have some chocolate in the house so that's been a big temptation to me this last week. It's almost gone now which will help with the sugar intake.
walk-40 min
garden-1.5
piano-20
protein-83%
carbs-98%
calorie deficit-250
Yeah, I mean, it isn't huge, but it really is a nice amount of space. I love it and always feel so grateful for it. I just feel completely lucky. When I moved in here, the owners were still living here so all the yard space was theirs and I just had a small community garden plot down the road (which I actually also loved) but when they moved out, they split the yard into 2 so the other tenants have the back, and I have the front. I love working with the different spaces, being able to grow veggies, but also being able to allow for wild plants and make paths and stuff.
I have considered that, and I suppose i have done a version of that in covering all the areas I don't want them to use, and then leaving uncovered other sections where it doesn't matter as much. For the most part it works--I guess the other day they just realized I had dug a section in the one garden making it a perfect place for them to use. I have been making that space less welcoming for them again, as I do work in that area and don't want to encounter their mess again.
Yesterday was good. I was a little concerned that I may have overdone it in the morning as I wanted to be sure to fit my run in, and I also wanted to finish off the one fence in the garden, and I wanted to fit in my physio...so I did all of it and after it all, my left hip was in pain...I'm not sure what caused it, but it went quickly enough, but I will have to be more intentional about spreading the activity out more. This morning will only be a nice essentrics session.
Didn't record calories yesterday. I was glad that my chocolate was finally finished and no longer a temptation for the evening but I noticed how, then, I was still craving those extra calories. I had some peanut butter on crackers instead.
Walk-run --1-4, x7 (some pain in hip, unsure if it was the run though)
stretch and strength-1 hour
garden-1 hour
Llama
Well-known member
Probably the combination, as you said. Just too much with not enough rest.
I tell myself that slightly slower digested carbs are a better choice for my body even if the calorie amount is the same.