Happy Walktober (and MORE)!!

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  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,337 Member
    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 🌸
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,337 Member
    jamcnewman 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🌸
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    @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
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    @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!

    mhz6c1yxee1q.jpeg
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,337 Member
    Week 3
    31.85 miles
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,337 Member
    77tes wrote: »
    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,
    🌸Maddie
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,410 Member
    edited October 2021
    @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
    🥰
  • Mrs_Hoffer
    Mrs_Hoffer Posts: 5,193 Member
    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!!
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited October 2021
    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!
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 20,051 Member
    edited October 2021

    mhz6c1yxee1q.jpeg

    25.46 miles

  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited October 2021
    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:

    e40zj7unwp4m.jpeg

    When I got to Virginia, this adorable furball (12 weeks old) was waiting for Aunt Denise:

    zzorx6plingn.jpeg

  • Mrs_Hoffer
    Mrs_Hoffer Posts: 5,193 Member
    Oh my gosh!!!! He's so cute!! I just want to cuddle him!!! :love:
  • jamcnewman
    jamcnewman Posts: 4,410 Member
    Mrs_Hoffer wrote: »
    Oh my gosh!!!! He's so cute!! I just want to cuddle him!!! :love:

    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

  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 9,261 Member
    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!
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 20,051 Member
    🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄🍁🍂🍁🍄
    🍄🍁🍂 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.

    ✖️✖️🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌
    🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌
    🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌🛌
    🛌🛌🛌🛌

    My October Habit Traker:
    2y73zdkl8wv9.jpg

  • PackerFanInGB
    PackerFanInGB Posts: 3,520 Member
    @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. :smiley:

    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. :mrgreen:

    @TerriRichardson112 Love your tracker! So bright and cheerful.
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 20,051 Member
    edited October 2021
    @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.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    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.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    @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!