Maintaining during the pandemic

Anybody else struggling a little to stay on track right now? How are you keeping your spirits and motivation up?
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Replies

  • iowalinda
    iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
    Are you still able to use your regular exercise facilities? My regular gym is closed due to the virus. Other places I've gone to walk (inside) require a mask, which makes it hard to breathe while exerting yourself. Outside walking is dependent on the weather, which has turned cold and rainy here. I find myself feeling anxious and kind of depressed. The weight has been creeping back over the last 4 or so months. I am still in the normal range, but want to get it back under control before it gets out of hand. What are you doing during this trying time?
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,668 Member
    I tend to eat junk when I'm bored and stressed, and I am definitely both now. OTOH, I'm not eating out much and we aren't able to do the occasional donut stop at the mini-mart any more, so I am able to resist that sort of temptation a lot easier. Being home all the time means I have control over what we eat. Both DH and I have been very stable in our weights as a result. I may not enjoy resisting temptation, but I am the one in charge of shopping and cooking, so we mostly do. I may want a piece of cake, but I am not likely to go out to a restaurant to get one, and I don't make one very often since that means eating several pieces, not just one. I am running less since I have no races on the near horizon, so burn fewer calories, but we aren't traveling, so I am able to run on a regular schedule, which is good. Long road trips tend to mean days I am too tired to do much exercise and less quality in my meals.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    I found lots of YouTube videos. I also just walked or jogged in place while watching TV. Since I couldn't go to the gym, I started followed Sydney Cummings daily. I also do step with Karla@fitoutsidethebox. I am able to go to the gym now and lift, but I still cardio at home or run outside.
  • CrazyMermaid1
    CrazyMermaid1 Posts: 331 Member
    I normally walk an hour a day but the air quality is so bad we have to stay indoors. Also my gym is closed due to Covid. Struggling
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 10,875 Member
    I used to walk 10K per day in different forested areas, some of which burned.

    Now, as several have mentioned the air is unhealthy.

    So I’m doing hand weights, resistance bands, yoga YouTube, exercise bike & really active floor mopping 🤣

    Hoping our Blue skies will be back soon!

    Weight has dropped/maintained since I reduced calories in when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to walk in awhile.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    Sorry so many of you are affected by the fires. Hope you are all safe and sound!

    As far as the OP's question, I think the COVID shutdown stuff has actually helped me lose the weight. Not as many distractions, couldn't go out and eat/drink, had more time to work out at home and focus on my goals instead of other distractions. For me it was a blessing in disguise. It doesn't stress me out at all. Frustrates me sometimes, but it's given me time to focus on myself that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise!

    Life gives you lemons, time to make some lemonade! ;)
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    I, too, am so so sorry to those of you dealing with fire and smoke. Sometimes when I feel wound up and angsty, a quick walk around my neighborhood helps me get into more of a self reflective mode vs. a reactionary mode in which reacting to stressors with despair only deepens the stress. I would definitely need some kind of physical exertion as a substitute if I could not go outside. But I know it is not the same as being in nature. You have all my sympathy on that. It's gotta be tough.

    Early in the pandemic, there were lots of adjustments as 3 college aged kids came home. I was also provisioning for 4 octogenarian parents (so shopping for 9 and cooking for 5), and some stuff that everyone wanted was just hard to get, e.g. eggs. I was giving my parents food from my pantry and freezer because it was what they wanted and it was just easier to give them ours than to find it for them. It seemed like they were getting by on so little food to start with, I didn't want them to go without or have a long conversation about substitutes or for them to shop behind my back. I ended up losing weight the first couple months because there just wasn't enough (especially protein). I padded meals with more grains but evidently not enough. Eventually I got the hang of buying/cooking more and stuff was easier to get so I returned to my maintenance weight.

    My exercise routine didn't change at all, but I've recently hit a setback in my right arm/shoulder. It first struck as a sharp pain when I extended my arm up & back in a couple yoga poses. SHARP pain. It only hurt when I was extending, though. I took a week off weights & yoga. At that point, it hurt when just sitting at rest, but lifting weights didn't hurt at all. Yoga still hurt like a *kitten*, and more poses were hurting, so I decided my time with yoga has come to an end. Now it's disrupting my sleep, and I feel like it's even impairing my ability to do some ADLs. It's SO discouraging to have pain. I feel kinda anxious about it, too. DH is urging me to go to Dr, and since it has worsened over the past month, I guess he's right. Such a bummer. :(

    Sorry to hear about your bad shoulder. It sounds like my hip pain and me and running. I'm off to the doctor tomorrow and will probably get an Xray.

    I like how the pandemic has let some of us improve our cooking/catering skills.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I lost 14 pounds or so during the pandemic. My son has lost 5. My husband’s gained.

    For me I’m exercising more - which I need for mental health as well s maintenance. Just walking 5 miles a day. My husband walking with me but has been snacking too much.

    It's changing habits.

    I eat my meals like clockwork and snack at 4. We got a subscription veg bad delivered to avoid grocery stores so have tons of fruit.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,048 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    I, too, am so so sorry to those of you dealing with fire and smoke. Sometimes when I feel wound up and angsty, a quick walk around my neighborhood helps me get into more of a self reflective mode vs. a reactionary mode in which reacting to stressors with despair only deepens the stress. I would definitely need some kind of physical exertion as a substitute if I could not go outside. But I know it is not the same as being in nature. You have all my sympathy on that. It's gotta be tough.

    Early in the pandemic, there were lots of adjustments as 3 college aged kids came home. I was also provisioning for 4 octogenarian parents (so shopping for 9 and cooking for 5), and some stuff that everyone wanted was just hard to get, e.g. eggs. I was giving my parents food from my pantry and freezer because it was what they wanted and it was just easier to give them ours than to find it for them. It seemed like they were getting by on so little food to start with, I didn't want them to go without or have a long conversation about substitutes or for them to shop behind my back. I ended up losing weight the first couple months because there just wasn't enough (especially protein). I padded meals with more grains but evidently not enough. Eventually I got the hang of buying/cooking more and stuff was easier to get so I returned to my maintenance weight.

    My exercise routine didn't change at all, but I've recently hit a setback in my right arm/shoulder. It first struck as a sharp pain when I extended my arm up & back in a couple yoga poses. SHARP pain. It only hurt when I was extending, though. I took a week off weights & yoga. At that point, it hurt when just sitting at rest, but lifting weights didn't hurt at all. Yoga still hurt like a *kitten*, and more poses were hurting, so I decided my time with yoga has come to an end. Now it's disrupting my sleep, and I feel like it's even impairing my ability to do some ADLs. It's SO discouraging to have pain. I feel kinda anxious about it, too. DH is urging me to go to Dr, and since it has worsened over the past month, I guess he's right. Such a bummer. :(

    Sorry to hear about your bad shoulder. It sounds like my hip pain and me and running. I'm off to the doctor tomorrow and will probably get an Xray.

    I like how the pandemic has let some of us improve our cooking/catering skills.

    How did things go at the Dr?
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    I didn’t start really struggling until wildfire smoke forced me to stay inside with all the windows shut. I could have exercised inside but the horrible skies were so oppressive and dystopian. I felt depressed because until then my husband and I had been enjoying hiking several times a week. Now I had to wear a mask just to take out the garbage. There was no escape. The entire West was burning. I was also really worried that another fire would start nearby and we’d get evacuated again. I didn’t exercise and buried myself in books and TV, with LOTS of snacking, especially after dinner. Thank goodness that’s over, but now I’m up several pounds. I bought a spin bike and a step, and just signed up for Studio Sweat on Demand for spin classes. I also have a weight workout I do at home, even though it’s just light weights and bodyweight resistance. My gym was actually allowed to reopen but it’s one of those 24-hour unstaffed “box” gyms, and I’m not going in there. I actually cancelled my membership.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 78 Member
    I guesstimate I've lost a few pounds since March. I've not weighed myself in over 2 years but my clothes are looser and my loose skin (the aftermath of a 90lb weight 6 years ago) is more wrinkly and pliable! I'm exercising more (walking) and I'm eating one snack less a day due to getting up later and not having breakfast and a tea break at work.
  • evilokc
    evilokc Posts: 260 Member
    the gyms here were shut for 41 days. i decided that i would use that time to let my body rest. i stopped taking all my supplements and relaxed my diet. i didnt gain any real weight but i did loose 90% of my muscle tone. that upset me as it was hard earned. i have spent the last two and a half months trying to get it back. im on a good cut now and am actually looking better than i have in years. so i guess im all good for the moment.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited October 2020
    @evilokc That's the way you do it. Muscles are everything and supplements ain't free. I take my daily vitamin with a dose of reality. Think Dire Straits here.