Happy Walktober (and MORE)!!
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Sharing my experience with earbuds.
Hi Earbud Users…
INTRO
Many of us use ear buds or over-the-ear headphones when we exercise, Walk/Run,
Mindfulness, Sleep Sounds/Guided Visualizations, and many other things we do for our Health.
So I want to let you know that one bad blast in my right ear has given me tinnitus & it’s horrible. Please check out my story & the link if you want more info. I don’t want anyone else to go through this!!
STORY
I had barely used any headphones or earbuds until the past couple of years. In fact, I only wore my right ear bud, so I could hear traffic etc on my daily 90-minute walks/hikes.
A month ago today, my phone’s volume button got pressed by a pant pocket that I tried to use to hold my phone (since my hands were getting very sore from holding my phone each day.)
I did have earbuds in both ears that day. I yanked out the left earbud & tried to get phone out of pocket to turn down volume. Should have just yanked out both - in hindsight.
Odd, I thought.
I had something I really wanted to listen to that had already started. I put the right earbud in again. Tried the pocket, figured it was an anomaly- perfect storm. LOUD SOUND. YIKES Yanked it out!!!! Cupped my right ear gently, Swore, & said outloud “Wow that HURTTttssssssss!!!!”
Didn’t think much More about it, but of course have not used earbuds since.
TINNITUS
Tinnitus- ringing In Ear- developed in my right ear. It’s awful. I’m learning to control it- my techniques work most, but not all of the time. Like right now.
PLEASE learn from my experience. You do NOT want this.
Throw out your kids’ ear buds - and yours.
My ENT told me she’s making a mint “a whole career” because of earbuds & headphones. Teens falling asleep with music blaring in their ears especially distressed her.
The last thing I want you to know… The hearing in my Left ear is nearly perfect. The right ear is slightly worse than the average for someone my age & did not get worse with the blast. There is no doubt in my mind I should have stuck to my plan not to use earbuds. Luckily I only used my right ear bud 97% of the time.
Tinnitus is not a disease. Your brain perceives a sound that is not there. My hearing was not damaged by the blast. But my quality of life sure was.
MY PLEA:
Please learn from my experience.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/healthy-headphone-use-how-loud-and-how-long-2020072220565
Best,
Maddie 🌸4 -
jamcnewman wrote: »MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »This challenge is making my walks more fun!
Yesterday I read the main reason some members of The Weight Control Registry gain weight back is NoT their eating, but they find oft difficult to keep their exercise going at the same level.
Interesting!
This so interesting and I’ll add what I learned yesterday at my doctor’s about visceral body fat. She was really pleased that my numbers are dropping quickly for this metric as she explained it is the most toxic fat our bodies ever cope with. That diet alone doesn’t address it well enough for most people — and that even the people who are thin, in their weight range, at BMI and every other metric we all know (and love or hate) are at risk. One of the key approaches to keep this aspect of your health in hand is 30 minutes of exercise EVERY DAY. Brisk walking, cycling, or other aerobic exercise are all excellent options. That really hit home for me. 💡
This Walktober challenge is REALLY making it more fun for me — thanks @themedalist for managing the data, and for “mapping” our walk. It really helps keep the excitement in the journey.
Julie
🥰
Hey @jamcnewman!!
Thank you for sharing that info,
My OMRON scale is saying my visceral fat is 6-7. Normal range. And I’ve walked every day 90 minutes, 10K steps since ~ March 2018 if not a year earlier.
Perhaps that’s why my number is good?
Thanks!
Maddie🌸4 -
@MadisonMolly2017, thank you for sharing your story about the dangers of ear buds. I really had no idea. I can see your scenario happening very easily…Finger miss-swipes on a phone are so easy to do…and dangerous.
Thank you for letting us now!4 -
@jamcnewman, thank you for letting us know that you are enjoying our #Walktober virtual walk! It is fun doing this as a group! And we are making terrific progress! I wonder how far we will get in Week 3?
And since Week 3 ends today, just a friendly reminder about posting your weekly mileage in the next couple of days. I’ll be calculating our distance and making the map early Sunday afternoon.
Thanks!
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Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
I'm not getting much activity in this week due to my knees/ankle joint pain. Thinking I may need to break down and call ortho but I reallyyyyyyyyyyy don't want to!!!!
10/17: 1.2 miles with dog
10/18: ---
10/19: 1.25 miles with dog
10/20: ---
10/21: ---
10/22: 2 miles inside with DVD
10/23:
10/24:
10/25:
10/26:
10/27:
10/28:
10/29:
10/30:
10/31:
WOTY 2021: Determination[/quote]
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For the month of October, I plan to walk at least 150 miles. So far for the month I am at around 105; miles. I really enjoy walking.6
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Week 3
31.85 miles4 -
themedalist wrote: »@MadisonMolly2017, thank you for sharing your story about the dangers of ear buds. I really had no idea. I can see your scenario happening very easily…Finger miss-swipes on a phone are so easy to do…and dangerous.
Thank you for letting us now!
@themedalist
Thank you so much.
If it saves one person from tinnitus or hearing loss…
Thank you for doing the weekly walking challenge!
🌸Maddie5 -
Week - 3
30.16 miles
@MadisonMolly2017 I’m so sorry to hear the story about your ears. I use earbuds a lot, too. That’s some scary consequences of a “minor” phone malfunction. Thanks for the warning.I’ve often been distressed when my students clearly have their earphones up way too loud, and I’ll often give a mini lecture about how they don’t want to lose their hearing, but I never considered that a I could accidentally damage my hearing. Wow, I really don’t want tinnitus.5 -
Week - 3
30.16 miles
@MadisonMolly2017 I’m so sorry to hear the story about your ears. I use earbuds a lot, too. That’s some scary consequences of a “minor” phone malfunction. Thanks for the warning.I’ve often been distressed when my students clearly have their earphones up way too loud, and I’ll often give a mini lecture about how they don’t want to lose their hearing, but I never considered that a I could accidentally damage my hearing. Wow, I really don’t want tinnitus.
Thank you @77tes. One accident did it for me. Looks like hearing loss (not tinnitus) occurs with a lot of earbud usage even at somewhat safe levels. Worth researching & deciding how you want to proceed.
My Best to You,
🌸Maddie3 -
@themedalist my totals for October 16-22
55.8 Kilometres = 34.7 miles
559 active minutes = 9 hours and 20 min
84,696 steps
Julie
🥰2 -
In October I'm shooting for 200 walking miles and 500k steps.
Week 3: 32.8 miles walking.Oct 1 - 7749 steps and 1 mile walk.
Oct 2 - 29,407 steps and 10.5 miles walking. ( #icecreamwalk )
Oct 3 - 13,921 steps and 5.75 mile walk.
Oct 4 - 12,947 steps and 5 mile walk.
Oct 5 - 29,779 steps and 11.75 mi. walking. (Needed to do some catching up!);)
Oct 6 - 20,178 steps and 6.5 mi walking.
Oct 7 - 16,046 steps and 5 mi walking.
Oct 8 - 14,359 steps and 4.25 mi walking.
Oct 9 - 40,128 steps and 15 mi walking. ( #icecreamwalk )
Oct 10 - 14,537 steps and 5 miles walking.
Oct 11 - 12,915 steps and 3 miles walking.
Oct 12 - 14,262 steps and 4.25 miles walking.
Oct 13 - 13,493 steps and 6.25 miles walking.
Oct 14 - 15,949 steps and 4.5 miles walking.
Oct 15 - 14,789 steps and 3.5 miles walking.
Oct 16 - 32,637 steps and 13 miles walking. ( #icecreamwalk ) 16- 22
Oct 17 - 10,391 steps and 2.2 miles walking.
Oct 18 - 16,603 steps and 5.6 miles walking.
Oct 19 - 24,878 steps and 10 miles walking (needed some catching up!);)
Oct 20 - 8,459 steps and 2 miles walking. (I've been getting sick since the 16th). I believe it's the flu.
Oct 21 - 2,032 steps and 0 walking. (pretty sick today. hardly got out of my recliner all day!)
Oct 22 - 7,846 steps and 0 walking. (beginning to feel better).
Steps to Goal: 373,305/500,000
Miles to Goal: 124.05/200 miles[/quote]
I battled the flu most of this past week..... so my mileage is way down. Luckily my steps were up pretty high....
I'm almost 20k ahead on actual steps, but behind by 17 miles in my walking mileage. Ugh. I'm gonna have to work on finishing the month strong!!4 -
Thank you both, @jamcnewman and @Mrs_Hoffer. @Mrs_Hoffer, I hope you are feeling better!
I think I have everyone’s mileage except @TerriRichardson112. And now we have Tracie’s as well (@PackerFanInGB) I’m excited to see where we are in Week 3!4 -
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Another great week for us in Week 3: 189.53 miles! I have the mileage for all 7 participants, including Tracie! I will create a new map this afternoon.
Let’s have Week 4 run from Oct 23 through Oct 31. I bet we can make it to Florence!
My Week 3:
Minutes Walked: 5.1 hours
Miles Walked: 28.91 miles
I was down in Virginia visiting my family. I took the Amtrak train from Boston and LOVED it! A single train… No need for switching. It was so easy and the time flew by. I also could get some steps in walking from the car a car and that too was a bonus. So I added the train to my tracker this week:
When I got to Virginia, this adorable furball (12 weeks old) was waiting for Aunt Denise:
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Oh my gosh!!!! He's so cute!! I just want to cuddle him!!!2
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Mrs_Hoffer wrote: »Oh my gosh!!!! He's so cute!! I just want to cuddle him!!!
Me too!!! @themedalist @Mrs_Hoffer 😍 Just the sweetest pup!
How wonderful that you could take a direct train! We have NO passenger trains here in western Canada. Such a shame. My husband and I love to take and use the trains in Europe and the UK. I’ve used the trains in the US, particularly the Empire Builder getting on at Wolf Point MT (closest Amtrak station to us - about 4 hours drive) to travel to Chicago. I loved it!
Great memories. 🥰
Julie
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We made great progress this week! We are out of France, we’ve walked through Switzerland, and we are now in Italy! The resort region of Aosta, Italy, in the Western Alps. It's a major skiing destination with medieval castles and fortresses, such as the 14th-century Castello Fénis and Castello di Verrès.
We have a little more ground to cover in this final week to get to Florence, but we have 2 additional days to get there. We can do it!
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How fun @themedalist ! Did we go throught The Great St. Bernard Pass? That's a place I've wanted to see since reading about it in a Dickens' novel.
I'm glad you enjoyed the train trip! It sounds delightful! I love your tracker! It's delightful
@Mrs_Hoffer and @jamcnewman you are quite the walkers!2 -
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🍄🍁🍂 BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS 🍂🍁🍄
🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄
good morning everyone. Just an update as we go into the last week of October.
October I will..... To improve my sleep schedule.
In October I will ....... switch off my devices at 11 pm for the next 10 days (started on 3 Oct)
(I will review at that point, and may bring the shutdown back a little)
10 day Review:
This has worked very well. I am thinking of adapting this a little for November because of the time change next weekend when the clocks go back in UK.
✖️✖️🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌
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My October Habit Traker:
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Just reading through posts.
@MadisonMolly2017 <> Interesting point from the WCR, which doesn't really surprise me. So many people seem to find exercise such a chore. They don't seem to realise that so many problems are caused because people no longer see the need to exert themselves physically. (Never a problem that I had 😂 I always enjoyed physical activities, so made time for them. My problem was a love of good food and an appalling inability to gauge sensible portions 😂)
Also, I empathise with your tinnitus problem. DH suffers from tinnitus from when he worked in industry.
@jamcnewman <> I had my visceral fat measured a couple of years ago (just before Covid hit the world) when I did a 4 month Bodytrax course at our local gym. (I won the course in a raffle! 😂) At that stage I had been on MFP for just over 4 years with some success. My initial bodyscan was very encouraging. All my stats were excellent for a woman of my age. My body was 8 years younger than my chronological age. I managed to lower it another 3 years during the course. It made me less anxious about my future health and fitness, and proved that you're never to old to start improving your health.
@PackerFanInGB <> Sorry to hear about your knee/ankle/joint pain. I hope you can get some relief soon.
@Mrs_Hoffer <> So good to see you back on track. Don't push yourself too much. You don't want a relapse.
@themedalist <> Sounds like your trip to Boston is just what the doctor ordered. 😍 Gorgeous wee pup! We have skied in the Western Alps. Stunning scenery. So looking forward to reaching Florence.
My you achieve great things in the last week of October.
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Hi all,
I am aiming to eat more mindfully with advice from my dietitian. I’m also focusing on gentle intermittent fasting. 12 hours to eat a “reasonable “ amount of my heart healthy foods and then 12 hours to give the body a rest and avoid over eating. This is the plan that seems right for me not necessarily OK for everyone —but I’m trying to stick with it and build a habit.
I would appreciate the chance to just report to you how it’s going.
I have to wrap up my walking for today and then also do some other physical activity to round everything out I don’t necessarily want to but it’s not that bad once I get moving. I really appreciate the support and wisdom here and wish everybody well.
With kindness—. Michaela. 😽💕6 -
@Michaela_LaGata, Welcome! I’m also try to do 12 hours of intermittent fasting.
@TerriRichardson112 I love your tracker!
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Hello ladies, all your walking and good habits are very admirable and Inspirational! 🥰
I am feeling good about my MFP food tracking and eating habits, and I am regularly fasting 12-16 hours daily, so time for me to add in some regular activity - not primarily for weight-loss but for fitness and continuing to build healthy habits 😀
I have been meaning to (and not lol) develop a walking habit. I was trying to ease into it by NOT making it a 'daily' requirement, but all that has done is gotten me nowhere. I really think I need to commit to an everyday pattern, with the odd lapse when stuff happens, vs waiting for the sun, moon and stars to align and light a path out my door!
So, better late than never (right 😉) and if you will permit me I will join you on your last leg into Florence!
I may not get my pedometer out and working by tomorrow but won't let that stop me & will aim for 15 minutes daily and estimate mileage.
CONFESSION: I have a treadmill I bought when the pandemic started (to replace my old one which I did use, mostly in winter) and I am confessing right here & now I have not used it even once 🙄 - I turned it on & set it up after delivery and it has sat there ever since...I eventually unplugged it & folded it up so my grandkids stayed off lol...if I use it, then it will track my distance for me but I really want to walk outside, weather & light permitting as my first choice - but I truly have no excuse!!7 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »This challenge is making my walks more fun!
Yesterday I read the main reason some members of The Weight Control Registry gain weight back is NoT their eating, but they find oft difficult to keep their exercise going at the same level.
Interesting!
This IS interesting, and I have a theory:
If you approach weight-loss solely as a goal to reach, there are many things you might do temporarily that you would not be willing, or even able, to keep up in order to drop the pounds to achieve that goal.
I personally can attest to joining some incredibly low calorie programs that were absolutely not sustainable.
And going to the gym more often than I "wanted" to - with an "end" in mind.
I now know these methods brought me only temporary results and I am now of the mindset that achieving & maintaining a reasonable body weight needs to be a new lifestyle that allows me to lose weight but isn't far off of how I intend to live after. No heroic measures! 😁7 -
@themedalist That sounds like a fun trip! I've never taken a train trip but it's on my list of things to do someday! Your calendar of steps is so cute.
I also love the photos you posted. What a beautiful place! Another thing on my list of things to do someday is to see a medieval castle in real life... I have a very longggggggg list that will probably never be complete.
@TerriRichardson112 Love your tracker! So bright and cheerful.3 -
@Ladybug8882021
You are so right.
I firmly believe that permanent lifestyle change is the only way to a sustainable, fit and healthy life. As I went through the initial few months in the process, my focus shifted from it being a weight loss diet into a quest for a healthier, fitter life.
I make small permanent changes over time, which need to be things that I am committed to continuing for life. Although I decided to practice maintenance 2 years ago, it’s still a work in progress. 😂
I have tried to link my new habits into my schedule wherever possibly. This group has been so good for me. It introduced me to the concept of Tiny Habits, which has added amazing structure to my habit development.
@Michaela_LaGata
Welcome to the group. I look forward to hearing about your progress.
@77tes
I also find a minimum of a 12 hour daily fasting schedule works well. As a rule, I don’t eat after 9pm and don’t have breakfast until after 9am.
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Hi. I too have embraced IF in the practice of extending my overnight fasts, 12 hours minimum to the odd time reaching 16! I really think it helps for losing fat as opposed to weight.
@TerriRichardson112 - I totally agree that building habits into your schedule is key for me, always helped me. As of now however, being fairly recently retired, I have no schedule to tack onto! Not that I'm complaining 😁 but maybe I will start building a routine around my health habits hmm 🤔.
I have walked 15 minutes for 2 consecutive days. Look at me go! 😝5 -
I’ve been nodding in agreement with all of the comments made. You can lose weight in a number of ways, but if your goal is to keep the weight off you have to make sustainable lifestyle changes that require new habits. When I first joined MFP in 2011 needing to lose 50 pounds, my daily breakfast was four slices of cinnamon raisin toast with butter. My portions were out of control. I found a brand of bread that I liked even better and now I have one slice in the morning with yogurt for protein. A small change in habits that’s a sustainable that doesn’t invite the pounds to pile on again. I have a bunch of small habits and changes that I’ve made to my diet that have stuck over the years. I suspect all weight maintainers have made similar changes. There really is no other way.
I also do a 12 hour IF, starting at 10 PM. I do much better with a bedtime snack so I don’t have breakfast until after 10 AM.4 -
@TerriRichardson112, love your tracker too, especially the spider! You’ve done a great job turning your devices off and calling it a day. Such a practical idea for getting more sleep!
@Ladybug8882021, please do join us on our virtual walk to Florence! We need to walk about 300 miles collectively this week versus the 200 miles we’ve walked each of the previous weeks. I hope no one pushes themselves because we certainly don’t want anyone getting injured! But it does help to have a few more walkers on the journey. Plus it’s more fun! Please track your distance from October 23 through October 31 and I will collect those Nov 1-2 and post the final map.
Welcome, @Michaela_LaGata! We are glad you joined our group!3