Spring Ahead to Better Habits in April
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April 14 poem
The Humming-Bird by Emily Dickinson
A route of evanescence
With a revolving wheel;
A resonance of emerald,
A rush of cochineal;
And every blossom on the bush
Adjusts its tumbled head, ?
The mail from Tunis, probably,
An easy morning's ride.1 -
What's a snack stack @BodyTalking ?
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I completed my third weekly 36 hour fast this weekend. It has gone well, and I have been able to function normally activity wise, completed a 30 mile bike ride and worked in the yard for about 4 hours on Saturday, and did not feel any more fatigued than I normally would. I believe that I am going to make it a habit on any of the weekends that we are home.
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@hcoleman232 , thanks for cheering me on! It really helps me stay motivated!
Wow! @Interbeing ! That fast is really impressive, and your ability to stay very active without serious fatigue is amazing! You get extra points for bravery!
Miles in April: 55!
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
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April 15 poem
Oh, Hope! thou soother sweet of human woes
by Charlotte SmithOh, Hope! thou soother sweet of human woes!
How shall I lure thee to my haunts forlorn!
For me wilt thou renew the withered rose,
And clear my painful path of pointed thorn?
Ah come, sweet nymph! in smiles and softness drest,
Like the young hours that lead the tender year
Enchantress come! and charm my cares to rest:
Alas! the flatterer flies, and will not hear!
A prey to fear, anxiety, and pain,
Must I a sad existence still deplore?
Lo! the flowers fade, but all the thorns remain,
‘For me the vernal garland blooms no more.’
Come then, ‘pale Misery’s love!’ be thou my cure,
And I will bless thee, who though slow art sure.1 -
Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
well done! Hard to believe we are mid way thru the month already. I find that being active before a meal tends to curb my hunger for some reason.
My extra dental care is progressing nicely. It's really very easy and not much extra time involved but I feel like my gums are very appreciative and hopefully my hygienist will be also. Alto I think i am going to switch dentists this summer. I had been going to a new one for a few years recommended by my retired dentist but then this one is all but retired also and his office is very pricy. I was only going there really for him so now I can find a few more recommended to me that are closer and hopefully less over what my insurance covers.
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@SummerSkier ,that’s exactly how it went with my dentist/dentists. My favorite retired, and the new, more expensive dentist is at retirement age.
Miles in April: 62
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
April 15 - multiple miles before lunch since it was park day with my Curves friends.
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April 16 poem
16 April
anyone lived in a pretty how town
e e cummings, 1894 - 1962anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did.
Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain
children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream
stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)
one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was
all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain3 -
Just checking in sounds like everyone is doing well no lunch time walk today winter has returned possibly a small one tomorrow, at least I know I will have two short ones I need to drop my Rogue at the dealership for it’s first oil change it’s just up the road from my office a good ankle test, so a walk back to the office and then to pick it up when done.
My macro counting is getting better still struggling with the carb piece a little more tweaking needed and I may get a handle on it.1 -
@Interbeing , great idea 💡 to walk when dropping off the car for maintenance! Walking with a real life purpose is super. Hope the ankle is good with it.
Miles in April: 65.6
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
April 15 - multiple miles before lunch since it was park day with my Curves friends.April 16 - I got in a mile before lunch today. It might have been before breakfast - I forgot to check.
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Hello Group. My name is Nicole; I will be 51 next month. It's been a beat since I have focused on my healthy living journey; I tend to be an all in or all out kind of person…so I am back! Getting a bit of spring back into my life. On 4/5, I went from couch to 5k (to which I don't necessarily recommend, lol) and have been doing the 3.1 or more walk/jog miles daily. Even taking my 8 year old lab for a 1 mile walk and my 5 year old boxer mix on a 1 mile walk. Leaving me with 1 miles walk for myself. I have 30 lbs to lose; up from the 20 I had to lose just a few months ago; so that tells you how I have been doing but that is changing. Let's do this!
1. My goal for this month is to just keep moving; 3.1 miles a day until I find a groove/routine that works.
2. The small, actionable steps I plan to take towards this goal is to be active every day and consistently log food/drinks.
3. My reminder or cue to keep up with my habit will be set up in my calendar so I don't lose track/momentum.
5. My reward for maintaining the habit is honestly to look and feel better by fitting in clothes comfortably.
6. Coming to this feed often will give me the inspiration I need to stay focused. This is take 1,001 😊
7. Success to me at the end of April will look like closing all 3 of my rings on my apple watch every day since 4/5 and nailing down better eating habits.
Off to log my breakfast and plan my physical activity for this evening! Thanks everyone and best to all for getting a bit a spring into your lives!
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April 17 poem
Poetry Month 17 April
The Convergence of the Twain
Thomas Hardy, 1840 - 1928
(Lines on the loss of the “Titanic”)I
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
II
Steel chambers, late the pyres
Of her salamandrine fires,
Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.
III
Over the mirrors meant
To glass the opulent
The sea-worm crawls--grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.
IV
Jewels in joy designed
To ravish the sensuous mind
Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.
V
Dim moon-eyed fishes near
Gaze at the gilded gear
And query: “What does this vaingloriousness down here?”. . .
VI
Well: while was fashioning
This creature of cleaving wing,
The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything
VII
Prepared a sinister mate
For her—so gaily great—
A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate.
VIII
And as the smart ship grew
In stature, grace, and hue
In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.
IX
Alien they seemed to be:
No mortal eye could see
The intimate welding of their later history.
X
Or sign that they were bent
By paths coincident
On being anon twin halves of one August event,
XI
Till the Spinner of the Years
Said “Now!” And each one hears,
And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.2 -
Another welcome to you @nmpmmp
I loved C25K when I did it altho it was supposed to be an every other day thing and I am so slow that I did the workouts but the distance was a bit short LOL. Great choice for a starting habit.
I am still having to focus to incorporate my new dental hygiene habits. I want them to become strong and solid and not just something I do for a month but every day for the rest of my life . Like tracking. Or movement. But still here and working at it.
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Thank you for the warm welcome @77tes and @SummerSkier!
@SummerSkier, I could count on my fingers and toes and then some on how many programs/apps I have! lol. You got this!
I believe in making 1% changes….over time they add up to big changes…at least that is what I am hoping for this time around! 😁 Just keep going!
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@Interbeing I bought a few of these sectioned stacking containers for snacks, hence, snack-stacks
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I had an early morning blood test and, afterwards, went to the nearby botanical gardens to eat my snacks for breakfast. I left some nuts for the cute black squirrels that were scurrying around.
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@BodyTalking - beautiful photos! I haven’t been able to visit the botanical garden I belong to. But there’s always something beautiful.
Miles in April: 70
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
April 15 - multiple miles before lunch since it was park day with my Curves friends.
April 16 - I got in a mile before lunch today. It might have been before breakfast - I forgot to check.April 17 - Mile done before lunch.
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Cool!
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Poem for April 18
Good Friday
By Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)
AM I a stone and not a sheep
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy Cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood’s slow loss,
And yet not weep?Not so those women lovedWho with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,A horror of great darkness at broad noon—
I, only I.Yet give not o’er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once moreAnd smite a rock.
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Miles in April: 73
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
April 15 - multiple miles before lunch since it was park day with my Curves friends.
April 16 - I got in a mile before lunch today. It might have been before breakfast - I forgot to check.
April 17 - Mile done before lunch.April 18 - Mile done before lunch.
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must have been bloodwork day got my results back and do very pleased all was good A1c cholesterol all the good stuff. walked at lunch but ankle still tender.
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🏃♀️💃🧘♀️🏋️♀️🌱🏋️♀️🧘♀️💃🏃♀️
🏃♀️💃APRIL 2025💃🏃♀️
🏃♀️💃🧘♀️🏋️♀️🌱🏋️♀️🧘♀️💃🏃♀️📍
Personal Stats:Terri, in Northern Ireland: age 78: 5’2”
Working on strength/stamina/flexibility
All my stats are in the normal range for my age/height.
Weight < 140: Fat% < 22%: Muscle% > 27%
CI < CO
Steps > 5,500; Fitbit Zone Minutes, >150 per week
Intentional exercise > 50 mins daily
Active hours > 6 daily
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Weight Stats- SW: 227 lbs: UGW: 140 lbs
- Aug 2017: Started maintaining < 155 lbs
- Continued to drop slowly
- Nov 2019: Final maintenance range 130 < 140
April 2025: maintaining under 140
My aim is to maintain health and fitness by developing/consolidating supportive Solid Habits. Working on stamina this month.
🔹Consolidation of habits Focus:
I am doing > 10 minutes HIIT > 3 times per week
Wk1🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️: Wk2 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️: Wk3. 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️: Wk4 : Wk5 :🔹Maintenance 130 < 140
Wk1:👌 Wk2: 👌Wk3: Wk4: Wk5:📍
Daily Solid Habits:I like to frame my aims in positive terms.
♦️Food
* log All food and drink; stay under goal; balance macros/micros; Hydrate adequately; limit ‘empty’ snacks♦️Exercise:
- 5,500+ Steps daily; 50 + minutes intentional exercise; Fitbit Zone Minutes > 200 per week
♦️Mind/Body/Soul/Spirit
- Daily Mindfulness Practice/Meditation
- Practice Self-care
- Positively reframe thoughts
- Learn something new
- Communicate
- Create/adapt positive habits
- Puzzles/Art/Craft/Write/Read
- 15 mins Daily Declutter session
THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES OR SHORTCUTS to achieving permanent change.
🔹
REMINDERS: One or two thoughts which might give heart to some of you.- Daily weight fluctuations are [b]normal, [/b]and can be more than 2 lbs a day for no apparent reason.
- A general downward trend is what we are looking for. Eating out can cause apparent weight gain because of high sodium levels, but usually goes quickly. Drinking extra water helps with this.
- The human body does [b]not [/b]react instantly to what we do to it. Sometimes it can take several days to see results.
- Plateaus are a normal part of the process. The body is consolidating and adapting to your new way of eating/exercising.
- The closer you get to your goal weight, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight, as your body becomes more efficient at using what you feed it.
- When you exercise you build muscle, which takes up less space than fat, so use measurements as well as weight to assess your progress.
- Getting/Staying fit and healthy requires a lifestyle change for most people.
👍Stick with the process. It DOES work! But it does take time, effort, and most of all, patience!👌
Terri 🏃🏼♀️
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@77tes 🥰the poems
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Welcome @nmpmmp I did C25K a few years back and on occasion still participate in a few local races, but don’t run the entire distance. Great job keeping up the 5K mileage!
@BodyTalking Nice pictures! I love this time of year; blossoms and flowers galore.
4/14 - 1 mile walk, Lower body/Abs
4/15 - 2 mile walk, yoga
4/16 - 1 mile walk, Upper body
4/17 - 1 mile walk, Lower body/Abs
4/18 - rest day
Still not reaching my water goal. 😔
Keep up the good work everyone! 👏🏻👏🏻
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Sat the 19th. I have not been RECORDING my daily habit this month but that was one of the things I wanted to try. Not having a chart to check things off but just doing them! It's actually put less pressure on me and I have been able to continue the increase in flossing and water pik altho not on a particularly set schedule. The other things this helps to do is prevent late night or after meal snacking because well - clean teeth. 😃
I finished the c25k and I do recommend it for anyone trying to start increasing their activity. It is a great way to get fitter and do it without getting injured. Plus it has a good program to follow and you can repeat days/weeks as needed. When I started it I had been dealing with a knee injury from years before and every time I ran for more than a mile or 20 minutes or so my knee would start "fizzing" and then hurt for a week. So I was not optimistic I would finish it but I wanted to get myself more active. I have been a runner since i was 16 or 17 so except for the knee injury (from snow skiing actually) I was not worried.
ANyway, long story short but it taught me that it was OK to run and walk alternatively. Something which in my mind had always been "cheating" from my days in the army I guess. And it was a solid program. One day I ran 4 miles after I finished the program. My knee was fine! I started using some tape just to be careful (rock tape "rocks"!) and I don't even use that. This year my avg miles to date per day is about 7 and I have run as far as a half altho my favorite distance remains 7. So anything is possible. And that little program was a wonderful intro and method to get back to it.
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April 19 poem
Ode To Bird Watching
by Pablo Neruda
translated by Jodey BatemanNow
Let's look for birds!
The tall iron branches
in the forest,
The dense
fertility on the ground.
The world
is wet.
A dewdrop or raindrop
shines,
a diminutive star
among the leaves.
The morning time
mother earth
is cool.
The air
is like a river
which shakes
the silence.
It smells of rosemary,
of space
and roots.
Overhead,
a crazy song.
It's a bird.
How
out of its throat
smaller than a finger
can there fall the waters
of its song?
Luminous ease!
Invisible
power
torrent
of music
in the leaves.
Sacred conversations!
Clean and fresh washed
is this
day resounding
like a green dulcimer.
I bury
my shoes
in the mud,
jump over rivulets.
A thorn
bites me and a gust
of air like a crystal
wave
splits up inside my chest.
Where
are the birds?
Maybe it was
that
rustling in the foliage
or that fleeting pellet
of brown velvet
or that displaced
perfume? That
leaf that let loose cinnamon smellwas that a bird? That dust
from an irritated magnolia
or that fruit
which fell with a thump -
was that a flight?
Oh, invisible little
critters
birds of the devil
with their ringing
with their useless feathers.
I only want
to caress them,
to see them resplendent.
I don't want
to see under glass
the embalmed lightning.
I want to see them living.
I want to touch their gloves
of real hide,
which they never forget in
the branches
and to converse with
them
sitting on my shoulders
although they may leave
me like certain statues
undeservedly whitewashed.
Impossible.
You can't touch them.
You can hear them
like a heavenly
rustle or movement.
They converse
with precision.
They repeat
their observations.
They brag
of how much they do.
They comment
on everything that exists.
They learn
certain sciences
like hydrography.
and by a sure science
they know
where there are harvests
of grain.2 -
@snowshoe072 , hooray for the good bloodwork! 👏 Stretching that tender ankle might help. Hugs!
@TerriRichardson112 - You are really succeeding with your HIIT goal! Bravo! 🙌
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Great balanced week of exercise @hcoleman232 !
That’s quite a review of C25K @SummerSkier ! Fancy having a favorite running distance , ha ha 😆. I’m of two minds about tracking/not tracking. It does lead to all or nothing thinking, but on the other hand keeping a streak going is very motivating for me.Miles in April: 80
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Two weeks of walking a mile before lunch DONE!
April 14- I walked a mile before breakfast today.
April 15 - multiple miles before lunch since it was park day with my Curves friends.
April 16 - I got in a mile before lunch today. It might have been before breakfast - I forgot to check.
April 17 - Mile done before lunch.
April 18 - Mile done before lunch.April 19 - Got a nice long walk in before lunch today 😁
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