This past week went by in the blink of an eye ... it has not been a good week but I am managing my mental health a bit better. I had two very unexpected things happen in my circle this week (to add to the ongoing challenges) but I am holding mostly steady. I am focused on having appropriate reactions but working to keep my reactions "contained" so that they don't overtake my days and thoughts. I feel like I am doing better each week but really, it has been a lot. I am ready for the universe to give me a breather for awhile.

Otherwise, I have been mostly holding my own-- I havent moved the needle much but I am continuing forward with healthy behaviors and attitude. For now, I am ok with that but I do want to look at introducing more activity in the coming weeks. My first goal is to get into a routine -- if I can maintain a routine then I will look into investing in some equipment.

How are you all doing? What's going on in your world?

Hope you have a better week ahead, or at least a calm one, Funky.

Nothing much new. I added cycle class last week. Tried a new recipe yesterday, 3 cup Taiwanese Chicken. Very nice. Lounging in the sun is next on the agenda.

Oh, Funky, I hope you get a break soon!

The past week has been unusually busy, with two nights out (dinner and concert) in a row, two nights away with friends, helping DS move to new condo (I mostly supervised), and volunteering at an outdoor event yesterday where it was like 85 degrees. I have not had much ”real” exercise because even though I am mostly engaged in normal activity, I haven’t had much energy. Long story but this has been going on for too long and I am seeing my PCP today. I can’t seem to get a break with all these health issues, and this one is a bit of a mystery so I would like to get it resolved before traveling out of the countery in a month. I have already had a bunch of blood tests and the NP I saw two weeks ago ordered a CT but the date they gave me was July 7 (!) so I got a referral elsewhere and will be calling them this morning. And maybe my PCP can do something to move it up if she thinks it’s warranted.

Anyway, I have a fridge newly stocked with fresh, healthy options and DH is away for a few days so I don’t feel compelled to cook real dinners this week. I had chicken salad and a couple of half-sour dill pickles last night! Next week we will be in Maine for 3 nights with more restaurant meals, but until then, I am eating ”clean.”

I had to make an unexpected trip out of town to assist a relative who was in the hospital last week. Kswl's article posted in the other thread was a good reminder that our health progression doesn't have to be perfect. Did I eat a healthy salad from the hospital cafeteria? Yes. Did I follow it up with stress-eating a bag of chips? Also, yes. Did I get in 15k steps each day because the hospital is undergoing construction and I've lost my sense of direction after becoming too reliant on GPS? Yes. Did I skip strength training because I was too mentally exhausted to get motivated? Also, yes.

The common theme I see in all of our discussions is something I'm continually reminding myself. When I'm home and on my usual schedule, it's easy to make healthy choices. In fact, it's almost automated. When I'm outside of my little petri dish here, I just have to accept that my choices will not be perfect.

But I'm back home this week, and know what I should do. And catching up on sleep, which has been essential for my mental and physical health.

Funky, you seem to be maintaining that balance that we all strive for. But you've certainly earned a breather, and hope the universe affords you one.

Mtn, the 3 Cup recipe passed by on my screen, and I made a note of it. Good to know you liked it!

Sue, I hope you get some answers. And enjoy just preparing meals for yourself. I don't always like to eat alone but it's often so much simpler.

LOL about the chips! Hey, sometimes chips are necessary.

When I'm home and on my usual schedule, it's easy to make healthy choices. In fact, it's almost automated. When I'm outside of my little petri dish here, I just have to accept that my choices will not be perfect.

This, 100%. One of the things I've noticed is biweekly trips to NYC always present suboptimal eating. Part of it is I am usually a bit tired from travel and/or the change in schedule, and being tired makes one hungrier. Part of it is I am not cooking in my hotel suite and I don't want to go to an elaborate restaurant. This time, I am making a little trip to Whole Foods to get a good dinner. No more cheese and crackers with gummy bears, which I hate to admit is a fave "meal" from the bodega near my hotel!

PS next time I make the 3-cup chicken I will add more veggies.

Funky, hoping for smooth sailing this week. No doubt you deserve a break!

Somehow I gained 4 lbs. Hadn't weighed myself in a week or so and was shocked. Yikes. I guess I shouldn't be so shocked. Had spent the previous weekend in NYC so lots of (extremely delicious) restaurant meals. Then we had Grandparents breakfast at my granddaughter and grandson's school last week. Since we had to be there at 7:45am, we stayed at DD's house the night before which meant we brought take out for dinner. And then after the breakfast (which we didn't eat since it consisted of donuts and bagels, and was too early for us to eat anyway) we went out for breakfast. Not as bad a donut but not much better.

Since then I've lost 1.5 of those lbs.

Really not happy with myself. And I didn't work out at all last week. Rededicating myself this week (I'm starting to sound like a broken record!). Worked out this morning. Back to eating the way I should. Hopefully the remaining 2.5 lbs will be gone by next week, and then I still need to lose that last 5 lbs. Why are the last 5 the hardest?

Thank you all ... I know we all have challenges and things going on -- that's life. I just recognized that I have not been managing my current balance of "things" well. It was time to give that part of my life some attention and it seems to be helping! I appreciate the support and kind words... and please know that I am here to support and send wishes to any of you who are going through some hard stuff too!

I messed up my digital scale when I moved it last night ... this morning it read a full 9lb lower than it did yesterday lol. It was a nice number to see-- but I know now to trust it. I'll have to zero it out/recalibrate it later today. In the meantime, I feel lighter so looking forward to weighing tomorrow :)

Feathers, hope your family member is doing better this week ... and I am certain you will get right back into your routine!

Sounds like this is a reset week for a lot of us ... I feel good about my diet this week (except I have had a few too many stalks of celery with peanut butter!) The weather is going to put a damper on the holiday weekend so I should be able to remain on track into next weekend.

I am waiting to birth a kidney stone! Two scans a few weeks apart show that it is moving. One more scan in two weeks and if it still inside, then surgery is already scheduled for a few days later.

In hindsight, I should have gone to the ER when the first "attack" happened and they probably would have taken it out then and saved me weeks of random symptoms and lots of scans.

Jsk, the math says you could not have eaten so much to have gained 4 lbs, so, like you experienced by losing 1.5 already, most of what you gained is probably bloat from restaurant foods, etc. You can get back on track! Be good to yourself.

Thanks, Funky. lol I wouldn’t recalibrate the scale for a while!

Exactly, @Feathers11 and @jsk. When my scale does something like that, I just scoff at it and stomp off. Stupid scale!

I made a concerted effort to eat better while travelling the last few days, and I felt better. I still need to get to bed earlier when I am rising at 7. I have been a night owl for as long as I can remember. I took my trusty melatonin 3mg but I need to take it earlier in the night because it takes 30 min or so for me.

Spin this afternoon at a new place; my gym does not have enough classes for my schedule so I joined a "group cycle studio." I think "spin" might be what oldsters call it. Yikes.

Well, I'm an oldster, then, because it will always be spin to me. I loved my former spin class, but it became so crowded that you had to get there 20 minutes early to reserve a bike, etc. I then bought a spin cycle, and I use it on occasion. Enjoy the class, Mtn!

Loved the spin/group cycle "class. It was a class of one! Can you imagine? Great for me being new to the studio and their bikes, etc. And I liked the instructor, music, eqp, surroundings. I will go back. They say that the afternoon classes are very light until after Memorial Day. Morning classes = sad face for me.

I own a Peloton. I have had various gym setups over the years, from OTT to meager. Convenience does not motivate me, alas. I only worked out at home when a trainer came.

Just a quick update because the details are long and boring, but I did have a good appt with my PCP who ordered a bunch more bloodwork, all normal except for a slight blip in iron which she said isn’t significant. She wants a brain MRI rather than CT ”this week” — well apparently everyone wants one, so I have to wait til next week. I am also getting a heart monitor to wear for 2 weeks. What a mess.

The only good news is I’m still down 4 lbs. I could’ve maybe gotten to 5 if I had the energy to exercise and/or didn’t have a Ben & Jerry’s encounter the other day.

I hope they can rule out all the serious stuff and get to the bottom of why you are feeling crummy. So stressful. Yay on the 4lbs!

I decided I should go to a yoga class and strained my problematic shoulder. Had a cortisone shot yesterday for that. No good deed...

SueB, sorry to hear of all the need for tests. I hope they can clear you soon. I had a brain MRI inpatient when I had the mini stroke. Fortunately it didn’t show anything..

I used to love Spin class so much. I think I posted it was literally the last class I did before the pandemic closed all the gyms. Being in the small room with people heavy breathing doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I swear more than once I got the flu or other URI from there. Our Y’s used to have classes pretty much every hour but clearly it has fallen out of favor in trends. Now of course the trendy workout is probably Pilates. I had my private session yesterday and my legs were cooked afterwards from the chair.

Just got home from a mani-pedi which was great since my feet are not back to normal after standing in parking lots all weekend from our music festival. Next week I travel again for my conference so I will bring back all kinds of new info.

DH has expressed interest in making our guest room into a workout room so that can be my/summer project though there is a lot to clean out from there. I would like a Keiser spin bike still and those do pop up for sale used on occasion. I am that person that will workout at home but I enjoy classes too. It’s always good to have home and travel options. Looking into Pilates near the convention center next week. I won’t have a car though and I don’t use rideshare so it’s either walking or public transit.

I like music when I workout; i find both motivating and distracting.

I love bike riding but we tend to do it more leisurely; maybe because we tend to pick rails to trails type places that are flat. So for me one is no sub for the other.

I don't mind the vibe of a crowd, but from what I can tell at least around here, the am classes are the ones that are full.

At the gym, I listen to comedy. I walk around laughing by myself, looking goofy I imagine, but I don’t care because it makes the time more enjoyable.

I will have a hole in my listening schedule to fill when Colbert goes off the air. 🙁

I decided to add cardio after a recent piece in the NYT entitled I Love to Strength Train. Do I Really Need Cardio, Too?

They said "...the most effective workout routine combines strength training with cardio. When you do both, your risk of dying from any cause drops by at least 40 percent compared with doing no exercise."

I chose spin because for me, it is the most rigorous aerobic exercise I don't hate. For me, tt is just a tad easier than running, but I hate running.

I am cold all the time --- I keep a light cashmere scarf handy especially in summer with all the A/C. Even so, the Mayo Clinic defines intense cardio below, so that is what I look for when I spin.

Intense cardio pushes your heart rate to 70–90% or more of your maximum capacity, causing heavy breathing and significant sweating. It challenges your body's oxygen intake and forces you to work at an anaerobic level.

For a second I thought you were going to say you bring a cashmere scarf to the gym. 😎

HA! No but for strength training I usually wear a 3/4 zip (wicking). My strength trainer used to look at it and say "that won't last long" but now he know it is not comin off.

Yes, I often wear a long sleeve quarter or half zip or a 3/4 sleeve jersey. I'm also always cold and I don't sweat a lot until it really gets hot. Then I will wear more tank tops. We had high 80's the other day so I had short sleeve tops on, but today is much cooler and rainy so back to the long sleeve for the Y. The Pilates studio is also generally on the colder side. Off to the Y for strength class. They have this class called Group Power which is a lot of fun. It is probably more of an intermediate and higher level class though. You swap out the plates on the bar depending on the exercise and then for upper or lower body. And the instructor is in our age group too, so that's good.

I currently do weights w my trainer 1x a week and with DH another 1 or 2x a week, and I can't explain why but for some reason a group for weight training seems odd to me? Maybe because my trainer is constantly tweaking my routine?

PSA: this makes yummy, sweet iced tea (no sweetener added). I put 4 bags in a 4-cup mason jar of water and leave it in the fridge overnight.

I do miss the spin class I used to go to. I do not miss the 5am alarm to get there for the 6am class. Same as mtn, it's the best cardio workout I ever had. I hate running. I will not run. My high school tennis coach used to tell me all the time -- you'd be really good if you would just run. Meh, not worth it. Which is why I wasn't a starter on the team but I was totally fine with that.

I'd do spin classes on my Peloton but it was never the same workout as in the class. I know that is all me. If nobody is looking, I tend to slack off I guess. Although, with my walking classes on the Peloton tread I'm good about not slacking off and I do push myself. And I do sweat while doing it!

But the best shape I was ever in was when doing those spin classes. Only twice per week because that's when they had the 6am class. I was still working and had to get to work. The other days I did the eliptical and weights.

I do not like weight training. Probably because I'm terrible at it and very weak. Can't lift a lot of weight. I probably should look into going to a gym and getting a trainer. Maybe...

Yes, I use the weight room two times a week, and I find the classes are a way to add another day and do a variety of movements and it's less boring. To me, going to the weight room is incredibly boring. It's necessary, but boring. I go by myself, and maybe if DH went, it would be better. But in general over the years I find the only person I can rely on for my workout is me. I've never had a workout "buddy." I also do Pilates twice a week usually though this week was only once with the private session.

Jsk, a class could be a good way to start, or else yes, I'd recommend booking with a trainer. Most gyms will do an orientation session for free, but if you need more than that, you would buy a package. Oh yeah, I was a 6 a.m. spin warrior in grad school, but the gym was just down the block vs. here it's at least a 20 min drive to the Y.

@chispa, so sorry you are fighting with a stone. I have had several and they are not fun. Not sure where yu are, DD had a 8 mm stone at the beginning of the year. Went to the ER a few times, but was not in excruiting pain. Because she did not have a Urologist she needed to wait for a new pt appt with one. She was not deemed "urgent" in the ER for surgery. The day of her new pt appt, I took her to the ER writhing and nearly out of control in pain. She was put in a room, medicated and had a stent placed the next am (as they couldn't grab it due to inflammation. Huh, maybe from a few weeks of it being rammed into the renal pelvis?)

@Sueb20, sorry you are having a rough time. Hopefully things get better soon.