The lockdown hasn't been good to me?
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It’s tough! I’m lucky to be able to work from home but I find I’m not moving nearly as much as I would at the office even with a “desk” job. My friend suggested to dress in running gear when you get up and then at lunch you’re ready to go for a run even if only 20 minutes or a half an hour (we’re runners). It’s actually worked so far. I’m sure it would work with any workout. I think the psychological push of already being dressed for a workout helps. Snacking is another matter altogether sadly but working on it.6
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I'm really struggling. All of my usual coping mechanisms are currently off the table. Although I understand the intent I don't find the 'we're all in it together so suck it up' rhetoric helpful.
I've been successfully training for an ultra for 6 months, that's now cancelled. No unnecessary journeys in the UK so I can't drive anywhere nice to run. We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
I'm lucky enough to be working from home, I work with young people in training. They are all at home, desperately anxious and taking it out on me. I cannot answer their questions because who knows what will happen? I am trying to keep them in learning, and because most of the company is on furlough my workload has doubled.
I cannot be as active and that's impacting on my sleep.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions to make, eventually I'll find a way through same as we all have to. Just wanted to say that I empathise. Frankly if at the end of all this the worse thing that has happened is that I am up a dress size, I'll be thankful.8 -
You've got this, sounds like you had your wake-up call. I went the other direction, controlled what I could and channeled my stress into workouts and totally overdid it! I currently have ice packs on my calves and no cardio/lower leg weights until they recover. I'm used to doing a variety of cardio and lately it's been a lot of walking/dancing/wanna-be HIIT videos on You Tube. I figure one of the few things I can control right now is what I put in my mouth and how I respond to this. I'm not able to get all my staples food-wise so I'm trying to be creative with recipes for what I do have. I also don't live with anyone so it makes it easier to keep food I can't moderate out of the house. I'm listening to a lot of music to stay upbeat, reading, watching a little TV, and trying not to go stir-crazy being alone. I was recently talking to my dad about how it feels like life is paused but we're still aging and time is still passing despite it. I'd rather be closer to goals even if they're harder to strive for right now than go back to old ways.
I can relate. I started back on MFP about 3/01 and was figuring out how many cals w/o being too hungry, etc., for the first couple weeks. Then schools closed and I'm home with nothing to do for 2 weeks (Spring break and my district preparing to get us ready to go online). So I went from exercising every other day, ~4 mi/day, to hiking 5-6 every day and I am dead sore, nonstop. I have enjoyed the exercise and so do my dogs, but I have to cut back and regroup. I'm taking off today and tomorrow and maybe Tuesday. The good news is that I got back to work a couple of days ago and that helped with my focus in general.
On the downside, my scale just popped up a couple of lbs after several days of overeating. Not wild, but enough to suggest a legitimate weight gain of 1-1.5 lbs. I was getting too hungry again with all the extra exercise. I'm glad to have caught it now and be able to taper back to a more reasonable balance of intake and exercise. It's hard for me b/c that extra activity gave me some much appreciated extra cals, but clearly not enough to balance how hungry it was making me.
Good luck to everyone, however you choose to try to handle things.
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
Hold on there, really Ms. Ultra?
So what if *I* told YOU that my dog is sensitive to pollen so we will stay home and I won't take her out for walks, she can just poop in the cat's litter box!
Because what's the point? Just a one hour walk near the house is all she can do now. I am used to taking her out for all day hikes in the forest by the river and the mountains and the seaside!
So if she can no longer do an all day hike, she and I might as well just stay home!
What would you say?
You would say that I am a *kitten*.
And that I should take my *kitten* dog out for an hour long walk if that's what she and I are able to do because regardless of whether one hour is as good as an all day *kitten* hike it is still an hour long walk!
It is STILL some exercise and it is STILL better than NOTHING.
<please note that my dog is fine and not in any way restricted... but YOU ARE NOT if you can't see that one hour's worth of running is better than NO hours worth of running at all! And a short run, or even walk if you're ever that "desperate", will still help you feel and sleep better--if only by a tiny tiny bit as compared to your ultra training.
Put your running shoes on, open the door, get out there with the best protective equipment you have available to you, and don't come back till you're sweaty and it is 61 minutes later>
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
Hold on there, really Ms. Ultra?
So if *I* told YOU that my dog is sensitive to pollen so we will stay home and I won't take her out for walks, she can just poop in the cat's litter box! Because what's the point? I am used to taking her out for all day hikes but she can no longer do them so she might as well just stay home!
You would say?
You would say that I am a *kitten* and that I should take my *kitten* dog out for an hour long walk if that's what she and I are able to do because regardless of whether one hour is the same as an all day *kitten* hike it is STILL exercise and it is STILL better than NOTHING.
<please note that my dog is fine and not in any way restricted... but YOU ARE NOT if you can't see that one hour's worth of running is better than NO hours of running at all and it will help you feel and sleep better--if only by a little bit.
put your running shoes on, open the door, get out and come back sweaty 61 minutes later>
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I've gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks since being off work. And this is with me never once taking a day off weighing and logging my food. I still do my normal cardio and strength training, plus I'm now going for daily walks.
The gain must have to do with me not getting on a calorie burn from moving around at work and just a general nervousness I have in the workplace. Now it's time to make a plan for lowering my calories, which sucks because I was at such a good intake for my mental health, ya know? It was a high enough cut that I felt strong and not deprived. I had a problem with binging on low calorie diets in the past.2 -
somethingsoright wrote: »I've gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks since being off work. And this is with me never once taking a day off weighing and logging my food. I still do my normal cardio and strength training, plus I'm now going for daily walks.
The gain must have to do with me not getting on a calorie burn from moving around at work and just a general nervousness I have in the workplace. Now it's time to make a plan for lowering my calories, which sucks because I was at such a good intake for my mental health, ya know? It was a high enough cut that I felt strong and not deprived. I had a problem with binging on low calorie diets in the past.
6lbs in 4 weeks is 750 Cal a day, which is a significant overage--what you mention would have a hard time explaining it by itself.
I mean 750 Cal is the difference between sedentary and very active in *my case* (M, 172.25cm, 153lbs) That's like more than 10,000 steps in my case.... and it would be an even larger difference for you if your BMR is less than 1500 (BMR not TDEE)
So: are you sore at all? Have you been eating back calories from the walks which you weren't doing before? TOM complications? Are the 6lbs a scale weight change or a weight trend change?3 -
somethingsoright wrote: »I've gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks since being off work. And this is with me never once taking a day off weighing and logging my food. I still do my normal cardio and strength training, plus I'm now going for daily walks.
The gain must have to do with me not getting on a calorie burn from moving around at work and just a general nervousness I have in the workplace. Now it's time to make a plan for lowering my calories, which sucks because I was at such a good intake for my mental health, ya know? It was a high enough cut that I felt strong and not deprived. I had a problem with binging on low calorie diets in the past.
6lbs in 4 weeks is 750 Cal a day, which is a significant overage--what you mention would have a hard time explaining it by itself.
I mean 750 Cal is the difference between sedentary and very active in *my case* (M, 172.25cm, 153lbs) That's like more than 10,000 steps in my case.... and it would be an even larger difference for you if your BMR is less than 1500 (BMR not TDEE)
So: are you sore at all? Have you been eating back calories from the walks which you weren't doing before? TOM complications? Are the 6lbs a scale weight change or a weight trend change?
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
Hold on there, really Ms. Ultra?
So what if *I* told YOU that my dog is sensitive to pollen so we will stay home and I won't take her out for walks, she can just poop in the cat's litter box!
Because what's the point? Just a one hour walk near the house is all she can do now. I am used to taking her out for all day hikes in the forest by the river and the mountains and the seaside!
So if she can no longer do an all day hike, she and I might as well just stay home!
What would you say?
You would say that I am a *kitten*.
And that I should take my *kitten* dog out for an hour long walk if that's what she and I are able to do because regardless of whether one hour is as good as an all day *kitten* hike it is still an hour long walk!
It is STILL some exercise and it is STILL better than NOTHING.
<please note that my dog is fine and not in any way restricted... but YOU ARE NOT if you can't see that one hour's worth of running is better than NO hours worth of running at all! And a short run, or even walk if you're ever that "desperate", will still help you feel and sleep better--if only by a tiny tiny bit as compared to your ultra training.
Put your running shoes on, open the door, get out there with the best protective equipment you have available to you, and don't come back till you're sweaty and it is 61 minutes later>
I have already said that I am struggling, along with many of the reasons why.
I am not saying it is a rational or helpful response to the situation, simply telling me to get on with it is not going to help me.
I did also say that I would eventually find a way through.
I have spent most of the last 20 years trying to find ways to effectively manage my mental health, it will take longer than 3 weeks to find new ways.
I am perfectly able to both know I am not doing myself any favours and not be able to do anything about it.
You do you, and please allow others to express their feelings.
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littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
Hold on there, really Ms. Ultra?
So what if *I* told YOU that my dog is sensitive to pollen so we will stay home and I won't take her out for walks, she can just poop in the cat's litter box!
Because what's the point? Just a one hour walk near the house is all she can do now. I am used to taking her out for all day hikes in the forest by the river and the mountains and the seaside!
So if she can no longer do an all day hike, she and I might as well just stay home!
What would you say?
You would say that I am a *kitten*.
And that I should take my *kitten* dog out for an hour long walk if that's what she and I are able to do because regardless of whether one hour is as good as an all day *kitten* hike it is still an hour long walk!
It is STILL some exercise and it is STILL better than NOTHING.
<please note that my dog is fine and not in any way restricted... but YOU ARE NOT if you can't see that one hour's worth of running is better than NO hours worth of running at all! And a short run, or even walk if you're ever that "desperate", will still help you feel and sleep better--if only by a tiny tiny bit as compared to your ultra training.
Put your running shoes on, open the door, get out there with the best protective equipment you have available to you, and don't come back till you're sweaty and it is 61 minutes later>
@littlegreenparrot1 apparently loves to run and it is a stress reducer for her, just like overeating is a stress reducer for others.
Would you expect someone to have a good reaction if you told them to eat one Oreo when they really wanted 10 and to be happy with it?
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richardgavel wrote: »It's always about habits and routines for me. When some results in a dramatic shift in those routines, they fall apart. Early on in this mess, I lost my eating habits and exercise. So reestablish some routines. Walking 2 miles every day is more important than walking 5 miles every few days. I started with that and the other routines started to fall back into place.
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Same here. My habit was go to the gym 6x/week, left for about an hour, do some cardio. That was my alone, quiet sanity time and it helped me keep everything else in line. I would think, I’m training like an athlete, need to eat to fuel the training. Can’t eat tons of junk.
Well. Now there’s no gym. I have a treadmill and a weight set up, but I’m constantly interrupted and it doesn’t feel particularly “sanity saving”. I’m not moving other than intentional exercise, which I’m struggling to find motivation for (it’s like, well, I can’t lift as heavy/use the machines I like, so why bother?). So that lack of routine filters down to food too—I’m a slug right now, so I’m eating like one.
Not seeing anyone, and not even seeing myself (those hours in the gym are pretty much staring at myself in the mirror, but now i only see myself from the waist up when I brush my teeth), and not having to wear real clothes is not helping any of this.6 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I'm really struggling. All of my usual coping mechanisms are currently off the table. Although I understand the intent I don't find the 'we're all in it together so suck it up' rhetoric helpful.
I've been successfully training for an ultra for 6 months, that's now cancelled. No unnecessary journeys in the UK so I can't drive anywhere nice to run. We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
I'm lucky enough to be working from home, I work with young people in training. They are all at home, desperately anxious and taking it out on me. I cannot answer their questions because who knows what will happen? I am trying to keep them in learning, and because most of the company is on furlough my workload has doubled.
I cannot be as active and that's impacting on my sleep.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions to make, eventually I'll find a way through same as we all have to. Just wanted to say that I empathise. Frankly if at the end of all this the worse thing that has happened is that I am up a dress size, I'll be thankful.
Can't you go for an hour a couple times a day?
Would anyone really notice if you did multiple 1 hr/day loops?
I run from home normally. Sometimes just 3 miles, sometimes a 15-18 mile run, depending on where I am in my schedule. If a longer run I usually (not always) run for a trail (one starts about 1 mile from my house, but I could obviously manage if it were not that available or if they blocked off that trail). It's not the end of the world to run around a residential neighborhood (or several). Yeah, it's not as nice as some trails, but if the focus is the exercise, it's fine.4 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I'm really struggling. All of my usual coping mechanisms are currently off the table. Although I understand the intent I don't find the 'we're all in it together so suck it up' rhetoric helpful.
I've been successfully training for an ultra for 6 months, that's now cancelled. No unnecessary journeys in the UK so I can't drive anywhere nice to run. We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
I'm lucky enough to be working from home, I work with young people in training. They are all at home, desperately anxious and taking it out on me. I cannot answer their questions because who knows what will happen? I am trying to keep them in learning, and because most of the company is on furlough my workload has doubled.
I cannot be as active and that's impacting on my sleep.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions to make, eventually I'll find a way through same as we all have to. Just wanted to say that I empathise. Frankly if at the end of all this the worse thing that has happened is that I am up a dress size, I'll be thankful.
Can't you go for an hour a couple times a day?
Would anyone really notice if you did multiple 1 hr/day loops?
I run from home normally. Sometimes just 3 miles, sometimes a 15-18 mile run, depending on where I am in my schedule. If a longer run I usually (not always) run for a trail (one starts about 1 mile from my house, but I could obviously manage if it were not that available or if they blocked off that trail). It's not the end of the world to run around a residential neighborhood (or several). Yeah, it's not as nice as some trails, but if the focus is the exercise, it's fine.
In the UK, where @littlegreenparrot1 has stated she is, the rules of lockdown specifically state you may only leave your house for one form of exercise a day. Further clarification of that suggests ‘an hours walk, a 30 minute run or a cycle ride of between that duration. Dogs may be walked as part of your daily exercise’.
And surely, it’s not really in the spirit of supporting the principles behind lockdown to flout the guidelines? If everyone decided they could stretch the time frame to several hours or multiple separate hours the streets would be pretty busy, which is the opposite of the intent of the ruling. 🤷♀️7 -
I'm in the UK and I find it easier to avoid people on longer bike rides than if I did half an hour close to home. I live in a city but on a longer ride I can get out into the countryside and plan a route which mainly avoids towns. The first weekend of lockdown I tried riding smaller loops close to home and realised that it wasn't actually the most intelligent route choice. The 1 hour thing was an off the cuff comment and isn't in either the law or the guidance so until that changes I'm relatively comfortable with going out for longer as long as my route choice is sensible.8
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somethingsoright wrote: »I've gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks since being off work. And this is with me never once taking a day off weighing and logging my food. I still do my normal cardio and strength training, plus I'm now going for daily walks.
The gain must have to do with me not getting on a calorie burn from moving around at work and just a general nervousness I have in the workplace. Now it's time to make a plan for lowering my calories, which sucks because I was at such a good intake for my mental health, ya know? It was a high enough cut that I felt strong and not deprived. I had a problem with binging on low calorie diets in the past.
6lbs in 4 weeks is 750 Cal a day, which is a significant overage--what you mention would have a hard time explaining it by itself.
I mean 750 Cal is the difference between sedentary and very active in *my case* (M, 172.25cm, 153lbs) That's like more than 10,000 steps in my case.... and it would be an even larger difference for you if your BMR is less than 1500 (BMR not TDEE)
So: are you sore at all? Have you been eating back calories from the walks which you weren't doing before? TOM complications? Are the 6lbs a scale weight change or a weight trend change?
Now this is a number boy I totally agree with!2 -
helen_goldthorpe wrote: »I'm in the UK and I find it easier to avoid people on longer bike rides than if I did half an hour close to home. I live in a city but on a longer ride I can get out into the countryside and plan a route which mainly avoids towns. The first weekend of lockdown I tried riding smaller loops close to home and realised that it wasn't actually the most intelligent route choice. The 1 hour thing was an off the cuff comment and isn't in either the law or the guidance so until that changes I'm relatively comfortable with going out for longer as long as my route choice is sensible.
Agreed.
I'm not interacting with more people (none in fact) if I cycle shorter distances every day or longer distances every other day. I am limiting myself to rides of under 3hrs starting and finishing at home as I can do those with the fluids I can carry on the bike so no need to stop or buy any drink.
@littlegreenparrot1
Wish you well in your struggles but one hour of exercise only is not part of the recommendations at all. The official NHS advice regarding exercise is "to do one form of exercise a day" - no mention of duration. If it helps you to run further then do it but I assume fluids would be your limiting factor.
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BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I'm really struggling. All of my usual coping mechanisms are currently off the table. Although I understand the intent I don't find the 'we're all in it together so suck it up' rhetoric helpful.
I've been successfully training for an ultra for 6 months, that's now cancelled. No unnecessary journeys in the UK so I can't drive anywhere nice to run. We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
I'm lucky enough to be working from home, I work with young people in training. They are all at home, desperately anxious and taking it out on me. I cannot answer their questions because who knows what will happen? I am trying to keep them in learning, and because most of the company is on furlough my workload has doubled.
I cannot be as active and that's impacting on my sleep.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions to make, eventually I'll find a way through same as we all have to. Just wanted to say that I empathise. Frankly if at the end of all this the worse thing that has happened is that I am up a dress size, I'll be thankful.
Can't you go for an hour a couple times a day?
Would anyone really notice if you did multiple 1 hr/day loops?
I run from home normally. Sometimes just 3 miles, sometimes a 15-18 mile run, depending on where I am in my schedule. If a longer run I usually (not always) run for a trail (one starts about 1 mile from my house, but I could obviously manage if it were not that available or if they blocked off that trail). It's not the end of the world to run around a residential neighborhood (or several). Yeah, it's not as nice as some trails, but if the focus is the exercise, it's fine.
In the UK, where @littlegreenparrot1 has stated she is, the rules of lockdown specifically state you may only leave your house for one form of exercise a day. Further clarification of that suggests ‘an hours walk, a 30 minute run or a cycle ride of between that duration. Dogs may be walked as part of your daily exercise’.
And surely, it’s not really in the spirit of supporting the principles behind lockdown to flout the guidelines? If everyone decided they could stretch the time frame to several hours or multiple separate hours the streets would be pretty busy, which is the opposite of the intent of the ruling. 🤷♀️
Ah, didn't realize it was only an hour total. I read it, incorrectly, as more about staying near your home. I don't get limiting people to an hour total of exercise outdoors, especially if someone is in an area where you can easily be outside without being near people (not the case for me and perhaps not for littlegreenparrot, but obviously the case some places).
Also, it's common for people to walk dogs more than once a day, and that 1x per day seems pretty tough too for those without a yard.
But yeah, I'm a rules follower too, so I don't mean to be coming up with ways to avoid the rules.0 -
helen_goldthorpe wrote: »I'm in the UK and I find it easier to avoid people on longer bike rides than if I did half an hour close to home. I live in a city but on a longer ride I can get out into the countryside and plan a route which mainly avoids towns. The first weekend of lockdown I tried riding smaller loops close to home and realised that it wasn't actually the most intelligent route choice. The 1 hour thing was an off the cuff comment and isn't in either the law or the guidance so until that changes I'm relatively comfortable with going out for longer as long as my route choice is sensible.
Thanks for clarifying. That makes more sense, and I agree that for many of us in more busy areas going farther away could be helpful. (For me I'd have to go too far for it really to matter, but I can avoid people okay when outside where I am just by being flexible about crossing the street -- this is running, not biking. Biking seems okay just because of the lack of car traffic compared to usual.)0 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I'm really struggling. All of my usual coping mechanisms are currently off the table. Although I understand the intent I don't find the 'we're all in it together so suck it up' rhetoric helpful.
I've been successfully training for an ultra for 6 months, that's now cancelled. No unnecessary journeys in the UK so I can't drive anywhere nice to run. We're only supposed to be out for an hour to exercise so can't run anywhere from home because that would take to long, besides which it's difficult to see the point if it's only an hour.
I'm lucky enough to be working from home, I work with young people in training. They are all at home, desperately anxious and taking it out on me. I cannot answer their questions because who knows what will happen? I am trying to keep them in learning, and because most of the company is on furlough my workload has doubled.
I cannot be as active and that's impacting on my sleep.
I'm afraid I have no suggestions to make, eventually I'll find a way through same as we all have to. Just wanted to say that I empathise. Frankly if at the end of all this the worse thing that has happened is that I am up a dress size, I'll be thankful.
I'm confused -- no matter where you run from, you can run for an hour (or half an hour or whatever the limit is). I would consider some running to be way better than zero hours of running. That's the whole point.
(Sorry if this isn't helpful, but I've already thought about what I would do if running was limited here, as it's my main form of anxiety control).6
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