Morning all! Its another beautiful day here in PA .. I always find it inspiring when the week starts out with a sunny day!

This last week was a bit odd and off for me. The personnel issue I mentioned has been resolved but there are investigations that are ongoing. It is all very taxing and time consuming and it is taking up a lot of my time. It was a pretty bizarre situation and I am not sure if we will ever have the full picture.

I havent weighed this morning-- but I feel like I am holding steady. My eating has been fairly on target but a little irregular as I havent been focused on it. I have been more active in general but no concerted exercise. I would like to be more focused and conscious this week -- focused eating and conscious exercise. Work is going to be demanding this week but that is not new-- I need to work my personal health goals as a priority. I have no real plan for that at the moment but without a plan, it isnt going to go the way I want. I will be working on a plan later today.

This morning I am working on packing up meals for my nephew and his wife. I cooked much of yesterday. I have a few things to finish up today and then I will be good. I have to work today as well but I am looking forward to a walk later this afternoon. It isnt much-- but it will get me outside and will kickoff my "conscious exercise" for the week.

How are you all doing?

Hi, Funky, and everyone else. I’m sorry for the work drama. Ugh.

The Pilates studio is doing a #DoSomethingSeptember challenge where people post every day, so I am participating. I had my private session and one class this week. Heading to the Y for weights between NFL games today. I can’t seem to get a private session time that works with my schedule this week so I’ll have to do two group classes, which is fine.

We had Kodiak protein pancakes for breakfast since we didn’t have enough eggs. I’ll go pick up the groceries when I go to the Y.

Third week of school starting. Just need to keep ticking off the weeks. Still trying to figure out how we will handle the classes when colleague goes out on maternity leave at spring break. Chair was going to recommend me for an ad-hoc committee but I held my ground and said no. Then the provost said the work should be handled by an existing committee so good. I just need to keep saying to myself in a couple years none of this will matter and to keep saying NO in the meantime.

We ordered the artisan pizzas so that is always good. No real events this weekend so that was a good time to relax. There was one concert we could’ve gone to but it wound up being postponed due to lightning, so maybe we can catch the reschedule. Although I’m doubtful based on their itinerary it can be rescheduled since the tour is moving further west and ends in California so it seems unlikely they can really come back around here.

Should get some cooler weather this week which will be nice.

Weight is down a little bit, but it’s so slow going.

Was it here or somewhere else that I read more people recommit to healthy lifestyles in September than in January!

In that vein, I need to exercise more. Exercise has never been my thing. The times I have committed to it have been 1) when I signed up for a run; 2)when I found a good spinclass: or 3)when I had trainers come to my home (someone knocking on your door has a way of motivating you). I don't really want to do that again.

I am toying with taking classes at the gym or a Y, or outfitting a home gym again. Which is a stronger motivator for you - a commitment to a class, or the convenience of home?

I absolutely won't do it on my own at home. I tried, had a great eliptical (during covid) and still found reasons to ignore it. I've also done some classes at my gym that you have to sign up for and often there is a waitlist. So I have made myself go to those (plus there is a scolding if you don't show a few times.) My suggestion is to find a great gym (I go to Lifetime Fitness which is more like a spa, I swear.) and get a personal trainer for several months. Once a week is plenty. My trainer is my age and totally ripped. She is also smart and tough. I don't think a guy trainer would be as effective because no matter how hard I work, I will never compare to him. But my trainer? That's my goal.

That was me about the Fall/back to school recommit.

I do like a mix of both gym and home workouts. I do the virtual Zumba at home, and I have some resistance training items here at home, but I also like going to the Y especially for weights. I also like the Pilates studio. If I had room for a good quality home reformer, I'd consider it. So yeah, I have the virtual membership, Y membership, and then the Pilates classes and private sessions by bundles, but I'm not typical at all. We'd need to totally clean out the guest room which would be a major project. Some places like the Lifetime or Equinox are very high end.

Lifetime is nicer than any other gym I've belonged to. DH bought memberships when it was still being built so our membership was decidedly reasonable. The amenities are great--steam room, sauna, whirlpool and a cafe that makes outstanding smoothies.

I have a free Lifetime Fitness membership through my medicare supplement plan! Our club is definitely more like a country club than a gym. My membership has restricted hours... 9:30-3:30 during the week, no Saturday hours and all day Sunday hours. The hours work great for me. I take a water aerobics class and try to work on the machines.

This past week has not been a good one for me. We are in the home stretch of our whole house reno. We are redoing kitchen, all 3 bathrooms and flooring in the whole house. It's been relatively smooth going. But this last month is stressful. We have to move out of our rental the end of the month. They are finishing up installing kitchen cabs. Bathrooms are mostly done. Flooring is in. We ditched our contractors countertop fabricator and decided to go with the stone yard's recommendation. We are waiting to hear from him re: his availability. All my design decisions are now being installed and it's stressful worrying if I made the right choices.

Oh and we let my son talk us into a 5 day trip to the NY finger lakes next week! Not ideal when you are trying to get people to the house to work.

I only got to the gym once last week and I'm not sure this week will be much better. I'm trying to take big breaths and maintain my small weight loss.

Czarinalex, I lived in the Finger Lakes for nearly 20 years. I hope your plans can include a side trip to Skaneateles. It really is beautiful this time of year.

I have everything I need to workout at home, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I did try a personal trainer for a few months a couple years ago, but that didn't work any better for me. I did go, never skipped, but I didn't enjoy it and once I had to miss for a couple weeks when I was traveling I never reupped. I will say you don't need a lot of equipment. We have an adjustable set of dumbbells, a box step, a weighted vest, and a kettle bell. I do have one barbell and it's set up for deadlifts. But I could use my adjustable ones - just had the other set up first. You can get a really good strength training workout like that unless you're really lifting heavy. The weighted vest does go up a lot and we use it for squats and lunges, you can add weight to the dumbells for box steps -add pushups, and core work. There is a lot you can do at home.

Life got a little busy last week and I didn't do the best as far as recommittment :( I did finally get my bloodwork done, so I can at least check that off my list. My LDL is still hanging out in the slightly elevated range, nothing my dr even mentions, but I was hoping my increase in fiber might be enough to offset some other habits, but no such luck. So, another reason to clean up my diet.

I have done pretty well with my sleep though. A few tweaks have made it consistently better, so there is at least progress somewhere.

One thing that has really hurt my general movement is my doggie can no longer easily get in my car. We used to do car rides and short walks almost every day, and that would at least add 3 or 4 K steps most days. I've tried a couple solutions to get him into my car but no success yet. And he's so spoiled that when I try to get him to go around the neighborhood, most days it's a big no thank you. He's becoming very strategic about how to use his limited energy and the same old routine every day doesn't really cut it :)

Aww, Legomom, I bet he misses those walks, too. The neighborhood walks just may not have the appeal that a car ride/walk combo has.

Our weather here has been wonderful, and I've had some nice bike rides and walks this past week. I'm continuing with weights, too, and have a steady routine. Eating has been fairly healthy, and I'm really enjoying plums lately!

I had a few days last week when I sat long periods at my computer, and it didn't feel good. If this continues, I may look into a standing desk, or just build strategic "exercise snacks" into my day. I currently don't track my steps, but there are days when I feel I haven't had enough of them.

Re: going to a gym, or a home gym, I do both. I don't care for exercise classes themselves. But I belong to my local gym, and go 3-4 days/week and lift weights on my own. I also have weights, kettlebells and an exercise bike at home. I use them when I want to work out when my gym is closed (it has limited hours on the weekends). I like the convenience of my home gym, but because I pay for a gym membership, I'm motivated to go. So, a combination of convenience and motivating has worked for me.

Czarinalex, that's a great deal for Lifetime. You can go at less crowded hours.

Feathers, I've had the standing/treadmill desk for probably at least 8 years now. I'd recommend getting a laptop stand and separate keyboard if you don't have one already.

Legomom, I had two large dogs that struggled to get into my 4runner at the end of their lives. I tried a ramp but that just didnt work well. I had bed stairs that I kept at the back door and carried outside. They worked well for my rottweiler/mastiff who was too weak from cancer to jump but she could step up. When my elderly (18yo) golden retriever could no longer jump in the car, I just lifted him-- but he was much lighter.

I hope you find a good solution!

I work out at home every morning. I belonged to a gym for a while but found myself not going as often as I thought I would. Because I have everything I need at home I find it very easy to start my day with a workout. I have been doing it for so long that it has become a routine part of my schedule and I don’t want to skip a day because I know I have more energy and feel better after working out. The key for me is I have an assortment of equipment and use the Peloton app so I can do different things (strength, cardio, stretching, yoga, etc.) every day. I know I would get bored if I wasn’t able to do that.

He didn't do well with the ramp. He can still do steps, so I think I'll try a set. Unfortunately my car is small and the back door doesn't open wide enough to accomodate anything really. So he has to get up to the hatchback part. Luckily DH can get him in his truck, but it was kind of our thing - doggie and I - so I need a solution because he's really in good health otherwise and loves to go!