May 8-14, 2024

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SarahMaxx
SarahMaxx Posts: 1,939 Member
LW: 131.4
TW: 130.8

Not a lot, but I'll take it. Thought I'd go ahead and start the thread before another day gets away from me. I hesitated when I first got up to say anything to anyone because I was feeling just cranky and negative. I don't know why. It was too early to be a reaction to anything that had happened. Then something did happen--I saw that the squirrels have ripped up a patio chair cushion that we just bought a week ago. :s And we bought the last two in the store. So after hubby's work meeting early this afternoon, we are going to drive up to Frederick to see if we can find another. If traffic is not too crazy, I'm sure that getting out of the house will be good for both of us.

So far we still have not heard from the insurance company about any further payment toward the sewage line replacement. The rep assigned to us mentioned that they are overwhelmed with claims now. Seems like everywhere you turn, companies and services are low-staffed. After not hearing back from the first two TM repairmen, I called the one that I got the info for by calling Precor. It has been 3 days, and they have not returned my call either.

Luckily, there have been breaks in the rain and I've been able to walk outside most days. I did use that YouTube video a couple of times. Yesterday, I had a terrible pain going on in my lower back and buttock on the left side (it's always that side!) and I thought for a few minutes that I might have to bail. But hubby always laughs and says I'm of the "just rub a little dirt on it and it'll be okay" ilk (that's what I say to him when he does something to hurt himself! :D ), and so I decided to see if I could just walk it out. And I did.

Well, my hair is drying and if I don't at least get the dryer to it for a minute, all of my cowlicks will see this as permission to go crazy, so here are my 7-day averages for steps (10,481) and calories burned (1,662).

If any of you have any suggestions for upping calorie burn, I'd love to hear them. It seems that even on days when I work out at class and also get 4 miles in, I still only burn high in 1600's or maybe edge over 1700 kcals in a day, and I can't seem to get my burn much higher. (Sheesh, we're about the same height and weight. Is that about average for you, too?) So that is my goal for this week, i.e., get my average burn over the 7 days to more than 1,700.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone. I know life is busy, but I love it when the board is a little more active. It helps keep me focused for sure. :)



Replies

  • GaGasheesh
    GaGasheesh Posts: 1,107 Member
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    LW: 135.0
    TW: 134.8

    Finally, a tiny reduction. I am still reading your posts, but I've got to go eat the dinner I made, and then Family Zoom after, so I'll come back tomorrow after my trainer.

    Sarah, I just quickly checked through my Apple Fitness app, and it looks like my burn is 1,498 on no exercise days, and 1,917 on a good exercise day. I had a golf lesson and range practice today and did a 30 minute Apple dance cardio, and my burn so far is only 1,423. So, yeah, my body isn't much of a calorie burning machine, lol. One week I'll figure out my averages like you do. With Apple Fitness, the important things are to close your exercise ring (mine is 30 minutes), closes your move ring (mine is 380 calories) and close your stand ring (mine is 12 hours per day). That keeps me in maintenance, so I need to figure out how to get reduction.

    Be back tomorrow.

  • wiredkell
    wiredkell Posts: 676 Member
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    I don't have a lot to add, but thought I'd pop on and read how everyone is doing. I too am in a bit of a funk. I have been doing a ton of research on perimenopause and I'm fairly certain that a lot of my ailments are because of that. Really trying to focus on drinking my water, getting in healthy foods, taking my vitamins and supplements where needed and snacking mindfully. I try to close my exercise ring on a daily basis and I just recently lowered my move ring, so it's more of an encouraging number, instead of just a never attain number.
    I saw the allergist, and she said my body just produces more histamines than the average person. I looked it up and it's a histamine intolerance.. which again, could likely be brought on by perimenopause. She upped my allergy pill dosage to 2 pills a day and put me on a Singular pill. We'll see how that works until September a reassess. The swollen eye issue happened again and my wheezing issue happened another time, luckily without the swollen eye. So.. trial and error again.
    We're heading to the cabin tomorrow for 1 night. I sure do love going there. It's just a different pace of life.
    I haven't weighed myself in ages, but I'm guessing I'm hovering around the 160 mark. Pants are tighter than I'd like them to be because of bloating. Really need to get this figured out.
  • SarahMaxx
    SarahMaxx Posts: 1,939 Member
    edited May 10
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    Hi, folks. Just checking in. Thanks for the info from your ring stats, Sheesh. I almost never burn 1900 kcals, even when I go to class and then walk 4 hilly miles. Maybe the muscle you have built over time with your trainer has increased your burn, and if so, good for you! :)

    Kelly, I'm glad you are getting that night at the cabin to decompress. Dealing wtih work, kids, health issues, etc. can really wear you down. Here's hoping both of our moods improve. I don't think I've had a doc mention too much histamine to me as they've tried to figure out some of the facial and eye issues I've encountered, but that's interesting. I know it's frustrating to me when I hear that something is just the way my body functions. (And I have a new concern about one of those type things, which I won't go into right now.)

    For me, lately, I've also had to struggle with what I know is unnecessary anxiety about things that don't warrant the reaction they get. Today, I'm overthinking changing from paper bank statement to statements sent to my email because of that Xfinity data breach. Of course I have changed my password (twice) and of course I monitor both my bank account and my email, but something about it still bugs me. I'm trying hard to just accept the way the world is now and not be one of those folks who refuse to change.

    Well, time to get busy. We take one of our kitties to the vet this afternoon for a pretty complex visit that I know will cost us a mint. Vets are more expensive than human doctors these days. Kelly, I know you understand how important our fur kids are. :smile:

    Lois, hope you jump in soon. I have been sending you good vibes in hopes that things are working more smoothly with the new system at work and that you are getting more time to take care of yourself.
  • GaGasheesh
    GaGasheesh Posts: 1,107 Member
    edited May 11
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    I read through all the posts I had missed. . Kelly, it's good to see your post. I'm glad you saw your allergist, and I think it's true that fluctuating hormones can affect allergic reactions. I developed more asthmatic reactions to things after I had a cystic ovary removed years ago. The drop in estrogen really did a number on a lot of things with me. And then, several years after that I went through menopause. Man . . . fun times . . NOT! :D My doctor put me on Zoloft and an estrogen patch for a year, and then I weaned off both. Once I was all the way through menopause I felt much better. Getting older isn't all bad. Also, I remember my doctor recommended a large daily dose of vitamin d . I still take a pretty big dose along with getting sunshine whenever I can. Living in the northern hemisphere, none of us are getting enough vitamin d.

    Sarah, I got curious and started looking through the data on my Apple Health/Fitness app. It does calculate using my height, weight, and age and the readings from my watch like heart rate, etc. so I think it's fairly accurate. I can tell you that weight training burns more calories than cardio. For example, my last weight training session (one hour not including warm-up) I burned 285 calories. My last 30 minutes dance cardio session I burned 111 calories. My last 30 minute treadmill (leisurely) walk I burned 98 calories. I burn a lot more total calories on the days I weight train, the burn afterward is good. So weight training does makes a big difference.

    Lois, I know that you and your hubby will get things figured out and get back at it together, especially now that the software is running better for you at work. (At least I hope so.) Like Sarah's hubby, mine is naturally slim, and loves to eat, especially all the things I shouldn't have! At least you have your hubby in the same boat rowing with you and not against. Small blessings, lol.

    Last weekend, we got to spend time with our baby grand and 2yo here for a few hours while mommy and daddy went out to dinner. We were at their house, and walked to their local park to play. My goodness, they are so fun! The baby is adorable . . very petite and really good. Hardly ever cries. She is so smiley and is learning to roll over! This weekend is Mother's Day, so we'll have our daughter (and family) over for dinner. Next week on Friday we fly to Portland for a week.

    Happy Mother's Day!



  • SarahMaxx
    SarahMaxx Posts: 1,939 Member
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    Thought I'd pop on to say "Happy Mothers Day." I had a nice surprise last night. At one of our volunteer gigs, we are about the oldest folks there, and when we arrive some of the younger ones always say, "Mom and Dad are here. We better get busy!" And one of those sweet and thoughtful young men brought me long-stemmed white roses last night.

    And I think I forgot to mention that the third fitness equipment repair company I contactws did finally get back to me. But they said that they no longer service my particular Precor model because it's often hard to get parts for one that old. Hubby took a look himself and said he thinks it's a bearing. So I'm trying to decide whether to try even harder to get a tech out to take a look or whether to finally let my old friend go. I'd love to fix it since I like its size and the newer ones are larger and also because we've been hit with so many bills in the past few months and we know we have several more big ones coming up. So, we'll see. In the meantime, it seems to rain 5 days out of 7 here, so some days it's really hard to get my steps in. Yesterday, I was able to walk outside between rain showers, thankfully. It's raining now, but I think it may clear for a few hours later. If so, I'll get out since the forecast says it is going to rain--you got it--5 out of the next 7 days. :s

    Sheesh, thanks for additional info. I think you're right that working out with weights burns a lot more calories than walking--even up the steep hills that are on my route. We use weights in my class, but not very heavy ones. I told hubby that I am willing to trade some back rubs for his poor hurting back in exchange for his spotting me at the weight bench. If I can get in one more day with weights of some kind, that may help. And our pool, which is heated, is opening next weekend, so I can add some water-walking and some swimming. My endurance with swimming is somewhat lacking, though, and the older I get, the less I want to spend much time in the sun. I'm already treating one pre-cancerous spot on my chest.

    Again, hope everyone is having a wonderful Mothers Day. You are some of the best mothers and the best women I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know.
  • Lastchancelj
    Lastchancelj Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Happy belated Mother's Day to everyone!! We had a fabulous day. Rhea and her parents came over. We enjoyed a brunch that hubby made the Mickey Mouse waffle with bacon sausage and eggs. We spent time out in the heat while Rhea, Grandpa and her daddy were in the pool for a couple of hours. Then we ordered Cheesecake Factory (I let Rhea's mama pick dinner). We had a blast. Games were played and princesses were enjoyed.

    The air fryer came in, and we enjoyed tilapia tacos. They were delicious. That was about all I've done health wise. Still stinking at intake.

    Sheesh - you are correct. Weight training burns 2-3x more calories...and the after burn that continues as your muscle recover. And Sarah - as you continue to get tone (which you are - by the way), your body burns more efficiently and it's harder to get that burn up higher. Even at my heavy weight, I was burning less as I was toned than many of other people working out. So, keep that in mind. It's a good thing to happen, but it also provides it's own challenges in our minds as we always want to see that number higher and higher.

  • Lastchancelj
    Lastchancelj Posts: 1,312 Member
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    WOOT WOOT. Gotta shout it out. I woke up at 4am and rolled out of bed at 5ish. Showered AND... wait for it... I went for a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood. Dang that morning sun is BRIGHT and HOT already. Just have to share that I finally got my tuchas out there. I'll probably crash at lunch for a nap.

    Make it a great day.
  • SarahMaxx
    SarahMaxx Posts: 1,939 Member
    edited May 14
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    In your own words, "woot, woot" Lois! For me, once I finally do something, it makes it a little easier to do it again. I just get the feeling that you're ready to make some good changes now that your foot is healed and work is easing up a bit.

    Got a little bit of "maybe" good news. Yesterday, I called what was going to be my 4th and final TM tech. It's a small family run business that had some good reviews online. His wife called me back, and what a delightful person. She first said that they, too, no longer service the Precor 9.2 because of the scarcity of parts but added that she understood why I am so attached to that model. And then we got into a discussion of how appliances used to last forever and now do not and how life in general has changed. And then I mentioned the big pipe project and said that we had covered my TM and didn't move it far, so I didn't think its developing the noise a day or two after I started using it again was related to moving it. And then she said that that they have found that often moving a TM will do something that's not real obvious. So she asked more questions about what we had checked and done and I was able to answer yes--we'd done all that. I thought it was the end of the conversation, but suddenly she said, "Listen, I'll talk to my husband and if you don't mind risking paying a service fee and being told there's nothing he can do, he may be willing to come out. No promises, but he may." I expected to hear something in a day or so, but no--in less than 15 minutes she called me back and said, "Buck and Dave can come out on either Thursday or Friday." Because of class, I chose Friday, so say a little prayer. I may just be out $250, but it will be worth it to me to know that nothing can be done, and if so, I'll dip into my ever dwindling pocketbook and buy a new one.

    And mentioning costs, we are starting one of our kitties on a new drug for arthritis that is outrageously expensive, but has been found very effective in some cats. Cats try hard to cover their pain, but she can't cover how hard it is getting for her move around, and especially climb the stairs. It's pretty heart breaking to watch. So somehow, we'll add this to the budget.

    Well, it's primary election day here, and I'm off to vote before the serious rain starts. It's just sprinking now and we walk since we vote at the school that is just a couple of blocks away.

    Back tomorrow to weight in, and I hope the scale does not say what it did this morning. I went from 130.4 yesterday to 132 today! That's the highest I've been in a long time. Hope it's water retention.
  • GaGasheesh
    GaGasheesh Posts: 1,107 Member
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    Just logged on to read posts, but I have to quickly say congratulations to Lois on your morning walk! And, hurray for finding a serviceman for the treadmill Sarah! I hope he can fix it!

    I had a hard workout day yesterday, and I'm getting a slow start today as a result. But, it's a nice day, and hubby wants to go play some golf, so we're going in a few minutes, even though I have a lot to do to get ready to leave town Friday. Little chores . . hold mail, cancel an apt, laundry, etc. But, I'd rather play on a nice day :D

    I had a really nice Mother's Day. Maybe I'll post a photo of the new grand baby tomorrow. The roses were such a thoughtful thing, Sarah. :smile:

    Gotta run.