Health and Fitness February, 2024

[Harriet]

Here's the place to post about all the plans and activities that will enhance our own well-being.

How did we do in our first month of the new year? Several had resolutions and hopes for 2024. Just remember, if you haven't stayed directly on track, don't fall prey to "all or nothing thinking", but give yourself a clean slate again and keep on with your plans.

We've had some new commitments mentioned. Please remember friends here if you have some successes to report - they are so inspiring to others.

[Nancy]

My Feb. Focus healthy habit is getting on the floor & up again I am up to 4 times in a row now.
Did my steps this week and I've been going to the basement doing stairs and daily walk around and added get on the floor and up again 4 times in a row now.

[Nancy]

Yea for great progress on my Feb. healthy habit
got up off the floor with out using my hands! Wa-hoo!
Getting stronger now.
Added aback stretch too.

[Harriet]

That's super practical, Nancy. Very smart goal, and you are doing great.

At other house I was doing floor exercise and popping back up from that. Hmmm... I bet I can't now because of lack of a place to do floor exercises for so long, plus going through some stuff, lol. Need to get back on that horse. (Or, down on that floor, lol.)

Can't really lie on my back now to work out, but things are changing, so maybe soon. I guess it's going to have to be the LR. HRH needs to help me figure this out - he has a small "pad" computer and maybe that could allow video, if I could figure out where to set it.

Speaking of going through some stuff. I had had to re-state some conclusions in last month's thread. No, I did NOT just pull a muscle on Jan 19, now did I. Sigh. Dd and HRH are monitoring my recovery, and it seems about as quick as one could hope. Quickly addressed, thank goodness.

So, EXCEPT FOR THAT January was a good month. I lost a few pounds and had a great pattern of exercise until then, ate well most of the month. There were times that I ate for comfort, and that's happened this month, too, but they were foods, not sodas, yay. No sodas in 2024 so far, which is nice. Definitely stalled out on some things. But I see the end of tunnel and how I can start back.

Most recent bout of back ache lasted only a few days. Hopefully I will quit doing too much too fast!

The series "You Are What You Eat" on Net Flicks was excellent.

The webinar series, or "book club" on How Not to Age only has one webinar left next week. I've been both taking notes and looking at the recordings.

[Nancy]

Good news today I could park at the end of the parking lot and do my longer walk to church and back out.
Last time I was there I was still having twinges on my knee and parked closer.
It is good to be able to gauge my progress doing this.
Also at the Wal- mart store parked further away this week again.
And did the hills on two walks this week yea!
Got some great exercise tips on you tube.
Got my steps in today but did less stretching taking a rest day on them

I have weights diff. sizes I can to one arm then the other I do not really need two of them now do I for arms?

[Nancy]

I have hand wts/ one of each I have thrifted over the years.
# 1.5 used that one yesterday.
#2 used it today
#3 to use in the future
#% working up to thst

Do not really need two I just do one arm at a time.

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These are great goals for getting in to shape for gardening before I get out the shovel rake and hoe.

Walked daily this week.
except one day of rain and got my exercise in on stat bike and in house exercise.

[Harriet]

Good job on getting arm strength up for gardening, Nancy.

Today was my first time back to exercising. Had been cautioned against it until pain was over, and it almost is. Everything was fine. Well, the last stretch of just seconds kinda hurt but I'm not going to obsess over that - it was an especially difficult one.

It's not that I haven't been somewhat active. Gardening the other day felt very much like a workout. But nothing intentional to exercise until now.

I've lost a half-pound so far in February. Yay, lol. The takeaway from that is that the weeks of being "down and out" didn't turn into a weight gain. (I realize it could have.)

We've got to stop having this "every day is a special day" mentality. For instance, yesterday HRH wanted to celebrate the grandboys having a day out of school for President's Day. Hmmm.. .... So we had pizza delivered, and there was very little to recommend that meal. I had the veggie pasta but they put so little veggies in it that I could have done so much better in my own kitchen. This on top of having the young man and dd25 take me out for lunches at restaurants twice in the last week (to funeral and to wedding venue meeting). And also HRH ordered in a restaurant meal on Valentines. No way to really criticize any of this, BUT my priority was supposed to be health/fitness goals for the summer wedding moment.

Oh well - looking ahead, not back.
Today was a smoothie of 5 fruits and 3 greens,
chickpea salad,
Poor Girl's Supper of slaw, brown rice and sweet potato.

[Nancy]

Yesterday I dug out one weed a clump of unwanted weed bulbs that take over, when I walk the grid pattern in the back I find them
as I clean up after ddoggo.
Knee is mostly better got my steps in some were shopping.
Others were from doing floors sweeping taking stuff out to the shed.
Ordered books and realize brain exercise counts!

[Harriet]

My turn for a hurt knee. Scraped and bruised mine yesterday and although it's not a big deal I have taken it easy today. Arm exercises are an alternative.

Yes, brain exercise counts!

New produce found - there is a "pink orange" now, of all things. Maybe it is only new here, but I've never seen it. The variety name of this one is Cara-Cara. I've always liked a little fruit over tossed salads, and segmented, cut up oranges work well. (I remove some of the fibrous part if it's too much.) Have to admit, the pink one is really pretty with greens and also tastes good. Anything that gets me to eat more salad/greens is a good thing.

I'm putting prunes into foods lately, like cereal and smoothies, because they are good for building back our bones. Soy does, too. Almonds don't do as much but studies show they help to prevent bone loss, which is still pretty cool. Tomatoes and onions do that, too.

[Nancy]

Harriet good for you prunes are great for iron.
Today I got up off the floor exercise did it 6x.
Also did 25 wall push ups.
Have done my steps and up the the count for this part of my day is up to my goal yea!