2020 - We can be our BEST SELF every day!

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  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    Hello Hatters! I’ve tried four times to make this post. Hopefully my phone won’t freeze up this time.

    Vail, what gorgeous photos! What a treasure to have that right out your door! Just walking amongst Roman ruins, no big deal. Wow!! For my 60th next year we were planning on hiking some of Hadrian’s Wall then up to the Highlands and possibly Wales. Now it looks like it may be for my 61st.

    I don’t have a crap stash, unless you count my belly as one. My eating habits have deteriorated to an abysmal condition. My daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and their two dogs are moving out and into their new house this weekend. I’m going to miss that sweet baby but I’m ready to get my house back in order and get back to a healthier routine. I’m still going to watch the baby on the (hopefully rare) occasion when she’s too sick to go to daycare.

    My mother-in-law passed away earlier this month. She had been put in hospice on a Thursday, we flew up there on Friday so my husband could hold her hand and say goodbye, flew home on Saturday and she passed away early Sunday. Flying during Covid was scary and we did everything we could to protect ourselves. It’s been almost two weeks and so far, so good. The service will be in April.

    The hiking trip went okay. It was rainy so we only hiked two days. We also went last weekend and it was good to get outside.

    I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe and sane! Sometimes I feel like the whole world has lost its mind!
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Suzy - my condolences to you and your family on your mother in law's passing.. im so glad you were able to see her before hand, and I can only imagine how scary that travel was for you..hugs and sympathies...

    i'm with you on the crap stash being the belly... i am wildly out of control and today we find out if we're going back into lockdown here.. i KNOW my eating is completely emotion driven... and i see the cycle starting again of eat crap/feel like crap/eat more crap/guilt over eating crap/eat more crap cause i've already blown it... and i KNOW i have to put the brakes on.. i do NOT want to end this year of hell at this weight.. realistically i know i only have about 5 weeks to work on it but i'm bound and determined to at least drop 5 lbs.. i think i've gained about 20 since the start of the year.. but its hard to tell with my eyes closed on the scale... but tomorrow i will brave the scale and get myself in gear..

    Wowsa on the move out Suzy... and i can understand completely being ready to get your home back in order.. we may love family and friends but there's no doubt an extended stay (looking at you too Gail as apparently your MIL is living with you now? Is your grandbaby still there too?)

    i was put on some new meds for my blood sugar back in February but omg.. they gave me never ending yeast infections lol.. ya sorry maybe TMI but you all know that nightmare .. so had to call the doc and say i cant do this one.. she was good said dont take it and we'll see how it goes.. but with all the crap im eating, im due for my A1C check at the end of this month and i'm not under any illusion at what that may show.. but all I can do now is move forward and try to remember that this is the only part of my life i can control right now.. so i better do it... !

    will pop in later i wanna hit the grocery store as soon as they open for some last minute stocking up ... hugs all around
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Morning Hatters!

    Well, I took the plunge this morning and got on the scale... it wasn't pretty... i'm up 17 lbs from my lowest weight, but i'd be happy with getting rid of the "pandemic 15".. Funny i thought ok i'll start tomorrow.. then realized i may as well start today... so I updated my ticker weight (took me 2 tries to actually hit the button LOL)... BUT that's ok.. i need to see it for it to be a reality.. and i'm just going back to basics; focus first on simply cutting out the DAILY crap.. its been an awful year for everyone and i just don't want to add ending this year at this weight... even if it's just a few pounds down from now I'll be happy so onward and upward!

    I can't remember if i told you guys about the '30km in 30 days' walking challenge we started with relatives on either end of the country? If i did skip this lol... if not long story relatively short.. my 71 yr old aunt had a knee replacement in August and once finished the physio recovery, she was told to make sure she walked to keep it going. So my sister and i had done a walking challenge in the summer, so I plotted with my sister and my cousin (aunts daughter) and based on my aunt's current abilities of being able to walk only about 15-20 min a day) we set up a '30km in 30days family challenge" for November.

    The aunt lives on end our country; my sister at the other end of the country, and i'm kinda in the middle lol... and there's about a 4 hr time difference between us however, i did up a cute little challenge outline to get us started, with official rules etc.. with the goal being each of us have to walk one kilometer a day - they send me their steps or time every week and I keep track. A few of us walk more than that of course, but every day we each have to send a "done" to the group message... and nobody knows how many km's each has walked because we don't want to intimidate our aunt since the goal is to get her walking.. anyway we are at the end of week 3 and the point of this long story is that she is doing GREAT.. omg... she really struggled the first week... but at the end of last week her daughter told me on the side she was so excited about her numbers she couldn't wait to submit them LOLOL.. AND yesterday she did 2 kms!! Wowsa!! we're all so proud of her, but i think she's just so darned proud of herself she's ready to explode lol. Every week i do up a little inspirational msg to prep us so this week is the last one and i have to sit and work on what i'm going to say tomorrow lol.. but its been a great motivator for all of us ...

    So.. another reason i brought this up... is its a reminder for me that little steps lead to big results. And I was thinking.. what if we had a little challenge here in the group?? Say for a month.. until around Dec 23 or whenever a month is from where we start??

    I realize we all live in different climates and surroundings, and we're in lockdown again here as of Monday.. but i was thinking it might be fun if we did a little challenge for ourselves...
    it could be something quite attainable - it's not about pushing crazy but just doing something every day... and we could split it up into different things.. an example only like maybe

    Dec Challenge 3 x 3

    1. 500 steps a day (outside of regular steps in daily routine - about 10 min of walking will make 500 steps)

    2. 10 minutes of strength training exercises a day (can be broken up into 2 min intervals, 5 min intervals, 1 min intervals thru the day.. i.e., 1 minute of lunges, 1 min of weights, 1 min of wall pushups ... can do while watching TV or making dinner lol.. whatever works for everyone there are loads of strength training moves that can be done)

    3. 10 minutes of balance/stretch movements (again could be split up during the day.. lots of different ones to choose from such as standing on one foot for 30 seconds, walking the length of a room heel to toe.. tree pose in yoga.. warrior pose..

    Completing all 3 every day at 10 min each will take up about a 1/2 hour of our day. And we could set up a separate thread for the challenge, and ask each of us to just post "done!" when you've finished all 3 every day...

    So it's just a thought.. anyone interested??? If not no worries at all.. i just thought it might be something so keep us moving a bit and is doable even if we're in lockdown mode..

    Don't be afraid to say no though lol.. I just thought i would put it out there in case :)

  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    Brilliant idea! I’d love to participate!
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    cool Suzy!!! We can tweak it to anything that was just an idea so let me know if you would like to add/modify or change the goals? We'll wait to see if Vail or Gail want to give it a go as well; I'm thinking those who want to participate we could start tomorrow that would take us to the 23rd of December.. or we could start with a 2 week challenge if that's too close to Christmas for anyone... whatever anybody wants.. i think it will be fun tho and at least ensure I get some movement in while in lockdown lol.. yay!!
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Morning !

    I've posted a new topic for anyone who's interested in taking part in the 10/10/10 challenge.. just thought i would keep it separate so we can continue our regular discussions in here but if you wanna join in here's the link

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10816479/10-10-10-challenge/p1?new=1
  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    I really think I’m going to have to start logging again. I’m so out of control with my eating. We have our house back again and I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow. I’m getting lots of veggies and no sweets!!! Of course Thanksgiving is Thursday so that puts a crimp in things. Luckily turkey is a low calorie lean protein. Isn’t pumpkin considered a vegetable....so pumpkin pie can’t be that bad. Lol.
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Suzy I hear ya on the eating omg.. i'm not even going to tell you what I ate yesterday... out of control is absolutely the way to describe me with eating and i think like you i may have to start logging again.. its not like i don't have time for it being it lockdown so i need to suck up the fact i hate it and jsut do it.. even if at first all it shows me is exactly HOW much i'm eating that will help !
  • Time2LoseWeightNOW
    Time2LoseWeightNOW Posts: 1,730 Member
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    I'm down for it....I've 10 or so Covid lbs to get off my belly stash!!
  • Time2LoseWeightNOW
    Time2LoseWeightNOW Posts: 1,730 Member
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    ....family has moved out for a year now, but mil is still kickin' . It has been a year now....only 5 to 7 years more to go.

    I miss them but the silence is wonderful. You don't realize it until they come to visit...wow!! and the mess... toys everywhere...It is mostly because of my hoarding clutter that makes it so bad. There is a small amount of floor space and they fill it up. lol but worth it. They are coming Friday or Saturday to spend a night.

    I am trying to get off my sweets and turn back to low carb / intermittent fasting. So far no nutty bars eaten at night.... probably because I haven't bought any. hey small victories, right?

    Susie , sorry for you and your husbands loss.

    Hi, Vail!!

    Hi, Snoozie!

    Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!
    G
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Vail I meant to ask if u were able to hook up with your friend for a socially distant visit ?
  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    I helped my daughter with unpacking and hanging their tv today. I swear, one of these days I’m actually going to have a day to work on MY to-do list! Lol. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my son and his girlfriend are driving down from Nashville. They’re moving to Vancouver for the next four to six months so this is the last we’ll see of him for awhile. She’s from there and they’ll spend Christmas with her family.

    I’m just planning on getting back to eating better and logging on Sunday. We’ve got too much going on right now. I feel like I’m not in control of my own life and I’m eating away my frustrations. Hopefully we’ll be able to hike on Sunday but my knee is killing me tonight so, we’ll see how it goes.
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    LOL @ getting time to do your own list Suzy - i can only imagine!! Wow your son and DIL are coming to Canada? Awesome... tell them to bring their raincoats lol - Vancouver is lovely and one of the mildest provinces over the winter but they do get a lot of rain there!

    I hope you enjoy your TG today.. doesn't look like anyone will be able to get together for Christmas here; we're in lockdown til Dec 21st so its unlikely anyone outside the household will be able to get together. Doesn't affect me as none of my family lives in the same province, but a lot of my friends are going to be missing out for sure.

    I read your line about feeling like you arent in control of your own life and are eating your frustrations.. honestly this pandemic has done the same for me.. let alone adding in all the other stuff you're dealing with. I find anytime i get anxious watching the case counts go up and up here, or i think about having to go grocery shopping or whatnot, i dive into food to console me.

    Yesterday i took my car in to get snow tires put on; I had an appointment for 10:15 so I figured i'd be in and out in an hour or so.. it was pouring rain all day btw.. just to set the scene..

    So i hand over my keys and they say ok it will be ready after lunch, we'll call you. It's 10:15am.. and i freaked... AFTER LUNCH? nobody told me i would have to leave the car and come back for it.. so I was totally unprepared... it's about 10km from my place so i couldn't walk home... and everything is closed because of the lockdown... and there were already 4 people in the waiting room and i went into full blown anxiety level at the thought of sitting in a closed area for 3-4 hrs. omg i'm not used to having ANYONE near me since i'm on my own.. most of my friends have family living with them so they are used to it but for me everyone is stranger danger...

    so i go out for walk and the rain stopped at least but my feet got wet and it was cold so my nose got all snuffly so back in i went and my mask basically turned into a snot rag... so i sat there with my mask on with the other people.. the chairs were set apart but it was still inside... so about 1/2 hr in i peer around the corner beside me and see one of the guys sitting there with his mask hanging off one ear, mouth and nose exposed... i almost tripped getting out of my seat and trying to find a place to get further away. it sounds like an overreaction i know, but honest to god i thot i can't do this.. then some service employees were coming in to the water jug dispenser in the waiting room and taking off their masks and drinking then going back out... honestly.. i had to keep talking myself off the ledge.. thankfully it was only a total of an hour and half i had to wait... but on the way home i stopped at a burger king and got a whopper and a large fry!!! I have not bought a whopper in about 10 yrs ... if i get anything its usually the kiddie burger but i was in full on stressed out mode and i ate the entire thing... i absolutely know it was simply from anxiety that i reached for it.. and honestly it wasnt even that good but i didnt care.. shoving it in my mouth was a form of soothing - not the right one i should be doing but there ya go...

    i do feel like i have no control over my life right now... but i know i have to get it thru my head there ARE things i can control - like my eating. So im going to have to find a place in my mind that reminds me as its the only component i CAN control - I NEED to control it.. and look at it as a positive.. THIS is the one area of my life i can control so by god.. i better take advantage of it.. its cutting that cord that currently has me reaching for crap and junk for consolation that is going to be the big challenge for sure... but with only 5 weeks left in the year.. im going to try to buckle down and get rid of a least a few of the pandemic 20 (ya 20 not 15!!)

    Have a good day my friends... hang tight and come here and vent if you need to anytime.. we'll get thru this as long as we lean on each other when we need to!

  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I'm sorry, I haven't been checking in and am just catching up. I missed your challenge, Snoozie. I'll look at that later and read all the posts in detail. I'm so sorry about your mother-in-law, Suzy. It's an especially sad time to lose anyone close at the moment, I think. It sounds as if you as a family have handled it all so well, with arranging to say goodbye despite the difficulties of flying, and waiting till spring for the service is a lovely idea, I think. I hope Thanksgiving went well, even though it was bound to be sadder this year.

    I didn't manage to go for that walk, Snoozie! One thing after another: my friend was isolating while somebody her bubble had a test, then I was, and so on. I've vaguely been trying to arrange with other friends, but I know I don't put enough effort in and the truth is I don't really want to go for a walk - I'm fine when I'm out, but can't be bothered organising it. Naturally lazy.

    I'm sorry about your car story - that sounds awful! I don't think you are over-reacting. And I feel the same lack of control. It's difficult when you're doing all you can to stay safe and the people around you aren't. I do think being inside for extended periods with people without masks is risky, so I would have been worried too. I try to remember that the people who take their masks off probably aren't infected, and even if they are it's unlikely they'd infect everyone in the room, and that people wearing a mask also maybe have a bit of protection from that .... but yes, still worrying. I had to have work done on my car recently and I actually just went to the closest place so I could walk back home to wait, for all the reasons you have highlighted!

    Eating and exercise, don't get me started! We're in lockdown here, coming out next week, then families are allowed to meet up for Christmas without masks, distancing, etc. and I'm really worried about it. Especially as my work puts me in close contact with people without masks, so January is going to be a scary time. It still feels stressful ... but this is no excuse for me to eat everything in sight! Exercise, mixed, doing bits and pieces. I have an online ballet class once a week which I really look forward to, but I don't think it does much in the way of burning calories!

    Anyway, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, those of you who celebrate it. Good news with the vaccines. We just need to get through this winter, then hopefully things will be a bit better next year.
  • Snooozie
    Snooozie Posts: 3,447 Member
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    Vail - how lovely you found a ballet class online you like!! I don't think it really matters how many calories you burn; its far more important IMO that you are moving your parts and having fun while doing so! I signed up for a couple of online classes from our rec centre - they're all free of course lol.. and i've tried a few.. twice now they have sched zumba gold classes which i thot ok i'll try ONE since im in my living room (im a terrible dancer and about as ungraceful as one can get) but they end up replacing them with something else each time so i havent' tried one yet. I did try a pilates class but that only lasted about 10 seconds.. just too much floor work and it hurt my back lifting the legs and what not..


    I find the instructor is a big part of whether i do the class or not lol.. there is one i just don't like.. and i find myself not even wanting to do the class if i see her LOL.. she's just always too darn perky and constantly asking for validation - like give me a high 5 people am i doing good? and yet there are a couple of others i really like and a few classes with weights involved.. so i usually get ready to do the class then decide hahaha... i even feel a little bit guilty if i decide i dont want to do that one (usually the cardio ones) so i just close the computer and leave myself logged into the zoom class so they dont know i'm not doing it HAHAHA..

    plus we've had ok weather til now so i'd rather go for a walk outdoors.. january and february i know are going to be a different story once the big snow lands so i'll hopefully make more use of the online stuff then..

    and yes i completely understand about your stresses with january... we all know people are going to break the rules in the areas where get togethers are prohibited.. we're in lockdown now until Dec 21st.. but even my own friends who have family outside our lockdown area have gone to visit.. sigh... but i'm finding this time around much harder than the first lockdown.. i think because they we had spring to look forward to... at this point we just have months of winter coming up gak!!! oh well... i know i'm still among the very lucky people who has food and shelter and friends and family i can keep in touch with over skype or video chats and i try to remind myself of that anytime i get the doldrums... and i do try to get outside at least once a day for walkies... we have a big rain/snow storm coming tomorrow but i have a handy dandy huge 6 level parking structure just built beside me for our commuter train service - it has open sides covered with wire grids but its a good place to walk when the weathers bad lol..

    Speaking of walking.. today is the final day of the "30 km in 30 days" challenge we did virtually with my sister and cousin and aunt.. we're spread across the country as you know and we wanted to et my aunt walking after her knee replacement in August (she's 71).. anyway she has done AMAZING ... we've all been gently keeping her motivated and pumped and as of Saturday she had completed 28 kms!! The challenge ends at end of day today and we're all on tenterhooks waiting for her to submit her steps later today.. they are about 4 hours behind me and my sister time wise so i hope to know before bed time LOL... it was fun tho and good for all of us for sure.

    ok well i think i've rambled enough... have a good day Vail/Suzy/Gail...

  • Time2LoseWeightNOW
    Time2LoseWeightNOW Posts: 1,730 Member
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    Hi....bye lol busy day back at work!
  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    I wish I could motivate myself to do online classes. I’m really missing my yoga classes, even though I wasn’t consistent with it. Just when my life was supposed to be calming down my sixteen year old cat’s health took a drastic turn for the worse. I took him to the vet for a curbside drop off appointment. So weird. The vet called me while he was examining my cat and we tried to decide what to do. Anyway, I’m most probably taking him back later in the week to be put out of his misery unless he makes a miraculous recovery. We have no idea what’s wrong.

    It was so cold here today and I kept thinking about you, Snoozie. I don’t know how you put up with the temperatures that you have all winter. It would take an extraordinary amount of discipline to make myself go out for a walk. I know spring seems so far away but there’s actually hope that next spring will also bring vaccines and a bit of normalcy.

  • suzyqholland
    suzyqholland Posts: 1,353 Member
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    Looks like I’m having hand surgery on the 17th. I’ll have to get a Covid test on the 14th. Not looking forward to either. I am looking forward to no more pain in my hand though!

    My health insurance carrier has an online physical therapy program that I started today for my knee. It has stretching and some ST in it so I’m just doing a bit more of each for my upper body/core at the same time. Hopefully I can work this into a good daily routine.
  • Time2LoseWeightNOW
    Time2LoseWeightNOW Posts: 1,730 Member
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    Best wishes on your surgery , Susie.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I'm so sorry about your elderly cat, Suzy. Fingers crossed for him, hoping he rallies round before next week. I would be absolutely devastated if it was my cat. Really just wishing the best for him, and thinking of you if the worst comes to the worst and you have to let him go. Good luck with the surgery as well.

    Well done on your challenge, Snoozie! Funny about the instructors wanting validation. It's one thing I like about ballet is it's a bit old-fashioned and I can't imagine the teacher doing anything like that! :D