:wave: Still here!

I just finished cardio and am having weird out of body experiences :o

Can't decide if it's sort of fun or I should go to the ER.

OH Mel! Come back and tell us how that turned out will ya?

Mel, are you Ok???

Also wondering if Mel is okay...

Good LB workout(from stumptuous.com) for me this morning, actually used my new squat rack. Of course, I keep banging into things, so now I need to see if there is a YouTube video on how to use a squat rack. :dizzy:

Random warm ups, including lots of jump rope
Squats - 3x10, 30# (DBs), 45#, 55#
Split squats - 3x10, 15# DB per hand
Stiff legged deadlift - 3x10, 55#, 65#, 75#
Calf raise - 3x10, 45# all three

By the time I got to the calf raise I was having a hard time getting the bar up and over my head, so it stayed the same all three. :)

Good weekend everyone! :wave:

Good workout Shannon. :strong:

As I mentioned over in maintainers, I fell yesterday and twisted my knee (and wounded my dignity :lol: ) so I took yesterday and most likely today off. It's feeling better so I'm aiming for tomorrow to be back at it. :)

Hope Mel hasn't sloped off to a parallel universe somewhere....

A parallel universe has GOT to be better than the one I'm currently in! I continued feeling really weird most of the day. It was like a little brain tingle-pass out type feeling that only last a second or two. Kind of like if you have low blood pressure and stand up too quickly. Maybe that's what it was, but it was happening when I was waling around, driving, sitting at my desk. The only time it didn't happen was when I was on the elliptical and when I lifted at lunch time. OK, so some people may think that wasn't such a hot idea, but I finally NAILED the form on a power clean and a hang clean squat. :) :strong:

At some point in the late afternoon I realized it wasn't happening anymore. But by that time I was brain fried from having a month's worth of work to do each day, so the net result is the same.

Pat- I hope your knees are feeling OK. Bruised pride heals fairly quickly, from my experience. Joints take longer.

I am soooo glad that it's the weekend. I'll probably go into work for a bit and do leaves, but I need a break! DH is headed to Ontario tomorrow to visit family and I wish I could go, but I couldn't get the time off work. So I get the leaves :p

Mel

Mel - glad you made your lifts! Some say crazy where others say dedicated. :) Seriously though, be careful with the disoriented feeling. Especially when barbells are involved.

Cheryl - I finally got to look up Pose Running, that looks exactly like what I was doing. I haven't seen it called that though. Hm. My calves were better by yesterday so I did some running on the treadmill last night, where I realized that I land in the center of my feet on the treadmill. I don't do that running on the road, it is flat on the heels every time. I'm going to try the middle of the foot thing at the park next. How are you doing? Still considering a recovery week? I'll tell you, I think I was better for mine, it let things unwind that I didn't realize were tense. I still did some yoga durin the rest, and some other light stretches scattered around so I didn't get stiff. Unfortunately, I ended up with another unplanned one when I got sick a few weeks later.... Could have done without the second one... :lol:

Pat - hope you are doing okay with your knee, and have a great weekend at your fair!

The boys are in the bath, well, the boy is in the bath and dad is supervising. I hear a lot of banging and sliding. Sounds like they are having a great time. For some reason, DSS's toys are always in trouble and in need of rescue. Boys...

Good weekend everyone!

Hi all,

Mel - glad to hear you are OK! You might consider consulting a doctor about this twingy pass out feeling- it does not sound all that great!-maybe you have low bloodpressure or something.

Pat - Ouch about the knee!

Birch - thnx for the weather, it looks nice right now!

Shannon, Cheryl & all the others, lurking Lydia :wave:

Very full day yesterday, I had class all day and that was a long long sit from 9 - 17.30 with only short breaks in between. I had difficulty to stay focussed especially since there was a lot of acronyms and block diagrams involved. difficult to wrap the old brain around the marketing talk. But an interesting perspective on how the other half of the world thinks, I'll be having class on friday all month and it's a great opportunity to get some education from the company in this economy.

I'm behind with my exercise for this week...so I'll have to make up for it this weekend. And clean the house, do the laundry etc etc. I did do 40 minutes yesterday before leaving for the course, some running, some rowing and 10 minutes yoga. Plan for the weekend is lifting and cardio, seeing that I have to catch up there is a lot of elliptical & rowing machine and watching miss marple in my future.

I'm also seeing a man in the village about some builders scaffolding stuff this afternoon. I'm trying to get some tubes & stuff to put op a bar in my house: for DS to hang a punching bag & do pull-ups, and for his old frail mother to use likewise. Should be interesting.

have a great day all,
Rabbit

Rabbit, you are the coolest mom on the planet, putting a pull-up bar pipe in the house. Put in a little extra so you can hang some rings, and maybe make some upside-down "L"s on the wall for dip bars, since you're going there! :D If we had any freaking LUMBER in the walls of this stupid house, I'd put some up, too. I swear this house is made of plasterboard, shims and aluminum strap on the corners, since that's all I can find in the walls!

Shannon, let me know how the running experiments are coming along. I definitely have been a habitual heel-striker in the past, and am trying to correct that also. I think I am doing better, because my times are getting faster, but it's hard for me to tell for sure...it helps to take some video or have someone else watch and give feedback, I'm sure. I think the POSE running is for people with a lot more spring left in their step than I have, lol. I'm just trying to run without wrecking my knees and ankles, lol.

Mel, what they said...if that happens again, I hope you'll see a doctor...don't want you passing out behind the wheel or clobbering yourself with a loaded barbell. WTG with the cleans, though...woot! :carrot:

Pat, sorry to hear about the knee...ouch! Luckily you have two of them, so be sure to report on all the one-legged squats and such that you'll be doing. :rofl:

My report:
Last night the boy and I went in for the afternoon/eve CF wod. It was Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 BW squats, AMRAP in 20 mins), and the boy was missing doing CFKids, so we went in, and the trainer let him do a 1/2 Cindy (AMRAP in 10 mins). It was fun doing a workout with my boy at the gym!

Today is my gym cleaning day. I'm actually looking forward to it. I enjoyed it last week when I was by myself most of the time, so I could just do the cleaning, enjoy the quietude, drink some tea...it was nice. It's always easier to clean somebody else's space than my own!

I have no idea what they'll do for a workout today. I have maybe some sit-ups in me, and/or cleans. I had bad dreams all night that it was wallball again, lol, probably because my shoulders and arms are trashed.

I haven't asked about a rest week yet...chickened out last night. My dad passed away the Sunday before halloween, and we weren't that close but between the family/sibling drama and this possibly being a PMS week according to the calendar (which is frustrating because I don't really know I'm tweaking until it's over), I just don't want to make any big decisions, in case they're just based on stress or crazy hormone imbalances, KWIM? When I look at the stats in my workout journal, it seems like I'm still making gains and progress in my workouts and my lifts, so I think this feeling of "overtraining" might just be hormones or stress, and not actually a physical reality. I might get brave and just ask my trainer if it's a good idea to take scheduled breaks, or how a person knows they need a break, something like that, and see what he says. I've been making some progress on the home front, catching up chores and housework, so maybe I can get things in shape here without having to take time off the gym. Holding that thought for now.

Cheryl - I'm sorry to hear about your father. Even if you aren't close the loss is jarring. That combined with the PMS could absolutely be causing the overtraining symptoms. :hug:

rabbit - you are cool! Though I know you will enjoy the bars as much as DS. :)

I did 5 miles at the park tonight, ran all of it. I'm getting pretty good at the long runs, but am still slow. I'm going for length over speed at this point. :) I tried striking with the center of the foot his time, I know I hit the heels some. My shins are a little more twingy than last week, but calves feel significantly better. Hmm. My dad's birthday lunch is tomorrow, so rest day from exercise and a lunch at Red Lobster. Woohoo.

Good night everyone!

Just running through. I got to the gym this morning and did Day 2 which is a LBWO with no knee problems. Did a short elliptical, and then this afternoon I had a haircut and wanted to end up at the grocery store after, so I parked there, walked 4-5 blocks to a craft fair (bought nothing) and then back to the salon, and from there back to the grocery store. Every little bit helps. :)

Hi all,

Cheryl - sorry to hear about yout father. Cool to do a wo with DS.

Pat, Shannon - how are the knees and heels doing?

Thanks for the thoughts on the pull-up bar. i have not seen the guy yet because i missed the appointment & we'll have to re-scedule. But I definitely like the idea.

Not much to tell here: good weather, sun actually! but cold. i've been very busy catching up on my cardio 7 i guess I'll be sore from rowing tomorrow. i took in some old BBC episodes: miss marple & the first 3 episodes of pride & prejudice, there seems to be something about BBC period TV that is strangely conducting to the rowing machine.

Food again is not stellar, but I'm done for the week!

have a great weekend all,
rabbit

Cheryl: :hug: So sorry to hear about your dad. Even when we are not close to a family member, their passing can stir up some surprising feelings. I hope you are doing okay.

Mel: Feeling better?

Rabbit: We are having some nice sunny days too. It's been great for prepping the yard for winter. This has been my active recovery for the past two weeks.

I did step into the gym yesterday for an hour. I think I spent more time working with DS1 than for myself. The rest of the weekend is spent reading, highlighting, note taking. :rolleyes:

Have a great afternoon everyone. :sunny:

Hi everyone, still here, and have picked up a new habit with yoga. I really like it, which is new for me since I've tried it before and didn't catch the bug. I think the difference is getting quality dvd's. The Gaiam ones are produced so beautifully with great gorgeous surroundings/scenery that I feel absolutely transported when doing those. I'm sure a live class would be great too, which is a goal for the future.

Other than that, just trying to DO more and TALK about doing it less ;).

Fran, great to hear from you! :hug: Have fun with the yoga!

Everyone else, thanks for the well-wishes. Mostly, I'm just trying to avoid the drama my sisters are throwing around. Is there a headache smiley? ;)

I thought about it over the weekend, and decided I'll take a full week off going to the gym this week. My trainer said half workouts would be fine, but I know myself...if I go in, I'll stay and chat and watch the workouts for 2 hours, even if my workout and warm-up are done in 20 minutes. I've decided a better use of my time is to stay home, I can do some light workouts here if he thinks it's best, but I could really use the extra hours at home to play catch-up on the house and yard work, get things a little more organized going into the holiday season. I'm going in this morning just to drop the cleaning rags off, since I brought them home Saturday for washing, and to let him know I won't be in this week. I'm actually looking forward to the time at home, and that will save me some money on gas, as well. Won't have to go in until friday night, to clean the gym, since there's another cert this weekend.

I had already done legs when I got my new Oxygen mag :love: I'm not sure I can wait until tomorrow to try something new ;)

Morning - We had 6" of snow last night. :( It's way overdue, and I know we need it, yada yada, but I DON'T LIKE IT! :) Besides I can't get my snow tires on until next Monday....

Cheryl - I think the week off will be good for you. I have Wed off from work, and really wish I could put at least one more day with it, but too many people are already off. A couple scheduled, and then another who has to go to CA for a funeral..... My house would certainly appreciate a little more attention than it's been getting. :)

Fran - nice to see you! Glad to hear that you're enjoying the yoga. I got a new Fitness mag (after reading part of it at the hairdressers) that has some interesting yoga moves.

I think I'm back on a more normal exercise pattern this week. Today is a full-body day. My knee is completely fine - even after a jillion squats on Sat. :lol:

Fran -good to hear from you! I find I'm liking yoga, too. They had some of the Gaiam videos on Comcast On Demand but they took them away. They are awesome, very peaceful.

Cheryl - enjoy your rest week, though it doesn't sound like you are actually going to be resting all that much. :)

Susan - new is always good. :)

Lydia - hope the study weekend went well!

Rabbit - calves feel much better today, thanks. Even got in some treadmill time on Thursday & park time on Saturday and they are still good.

Pat - glad the knee is better! 6" of snow... wow...

Today I'm planning a run at the park, unless time gets away from me. If I get out too late it will be LB when I get home instead.

Good day everyone!

Hi all,

Lydia, Fran, Susan - good to hear from you again!
pat, Shannon - glad to hear the legs are OK

Pat - 6 inch snow - Yikes!

Cheryl - enjoy your week off

I've started at another week of 7 hour exercise. Today was 1 hour bike to work and back and 1 hour power class. Tomorrow I will not be biking, so I'll have to think of something else...maybe get in 30 mins treadmill before going to work.

Have a great day all,
Rabbit

Dear All

Please excuse silverbirch lifting as she and her son have a virus. Between them they have had sudden fever, vomiting, aching joints, stiff neck, sore throat, cough, sneezing and bad temper.

SO is well. ??

Love to you all. Resist!

Ah, Birch, hope you and the boy don't have H1N1, though it sounds suspicious.... Feel better soon! And SO/DHs are so inconsiderate as to not get sick eh? Though they'd likely expect you to wait on them even if you are sick, so probably better they stay well.

Rabbit - good job getting right back to exercise!

:book2: mmhmm huh?! The weekend is OVER?! What day is it?
Just kidding. Kind of. :^: The studying is coming. Took another day off today from the gym to dig into another chapter. I'm doing my best to go underground and make this my first priority this month. Somehow today was spent putting out fires all day long. I'm not answering my phone, mail, or email till evening for the rest of the month. :rofl:


Silverbirch: You are absolutely excused. Hope you and your son are feeling much better soon. :hug:

Fran: Great to hear from you too. :dance: Love it that you are enjoying the yoga. A good instructor/video can make all the difference. Check out Yoga Journal.com as well. Great site for downloading yoga podcasts. I use them now that I can't get to a studio on the weekends or evenings. (kid duty) My cat loves the sticky mat more than her scratching post. Makes for a rather unnerving Savasana. :lol:

Okay. :wave: To all else, hope you can dig yourself out Pat. I'm with you, six inches is a little less than inspiring when you have drive around in it.

Back to the books...still waiting for my light. something about a thunderstorm in one of the distribution hubs enroute to Columbus is causing a delay. :rolleyes:

Coming up briefly for air.... I am SWAMPED!

Cheryl- I'm sorry to hear about your father and the family drama. If we had a headache smiley it would be the most frequently used.

Birch- Hope you and the boy feel better soon and keep your germs on YOUR side of the Pond! Yes, you are excused from lifting :hug:

Fran :wave:

Hello to everyone else, it's late for me, and morning comes too early!

Mel

Good morning!

Six miles at the park last night, good LB workout this morning, actually did day one first this time instead of last. Random drug screens downtown this afternoon. Pouring down rain outside. Good times.

Mel - hope things settle down for you soon!

Birch - hope you guys feel better soon! Don't overdo it, just recover!

Lydia - it always seems like a hundred little things come up when you are trying to focus on something. Good luck on the email & phone avoidance! I try that sometimes, but they follow me everywhere...

Rabbit - good start on the exercise week! :high:

Good day everyone!

My version of the headache smiley is the :rolleyes: Kind of works since most of my headaches are the result of really silly things.

Went in for my workout this morning. Totally sucked. (can I say that here?) I was up too late last night and I'm feelin' the effects of too many lack luster workouts in the last few months. GRRRR.

Pushups, killed my right shoulder. Glute activation during warm up and my squats still were less than stellar. Only 3 consecutive pullups in each set. And a pitiful little run around the coffee table track a few times.

Okay. breathe. breathe.

I took a few moments at the end of the workout to "channel" my fitter/stronger self while sitting on the mats. I made a promise to myself to get some more sleep and do less of the things that tick me off and go back to doing what fulfills me. Get through this certification thing and then get back to programming. My plan is to be solid by May. :strong:

Update on the light...it's on the delivery truck. Oh Thank God! I'm all about it tomorrow morning. :sunny:

:headache:

There is a headache smiley. It is the word 'headache' in colons. I've never noticed it before, and I'm not sure if it looks like a headache to me. But there it is.

Just got done with my drug screens, all good this time. I ate lunch super early planning on being busy all afternoon and now I am back at my office early and want to snack... And, I really do have a :headache: left over from dental work yesterday. And it is raining harder than before. Very blah kind of day.

I didn't say this earlier, but I was very excited that I used a little more weight than last time on my LB workout.

Squat - 3x10, 45#, 55#, 65# (up from 30, 45, 55)
Split Squat - 3x10, 15 lb DB per hand, held them up at my shoulders this time which was a lot easier than holding them by my sides
Stiff legged deadlift - 3x10, 65#, 75#, 75# (up from 55, 65, 75)
Calf raise - 3x10, 45#, 55#, 65# (up from 45, 45, 45)

Still learning how to use the squat rack without breaking my neck. :dizzy:

Good day everyone!

Hi all,

Birch - You are definitely excused. I hope you and DS get well soon! Strange that SO/the man did not get ill....surely men cannot have evolved into the stronger species all of a sudden ?

Mel - sending oxigen your way. I hope you are doing well by now.

cheryl - sorry about the family drama, enjoy the week of rest!

Lydia - sounds like life getting in the way of things. Good for you to keep focussing. How long till you can take the test again? I hope you have seen the light by now, sounds like you could use some serenity with regular 24/7 kid duty!

Shannon - good to hear things are working out.

Today I did 25 minutes treadmill & went in for a full day at work, plus a reunion with of a project that I worked at sometime at the end of the eighties. Met with the crew again, at the location of another firm that has continued with the product.

I was the only female in a technical capacity in that project at the time, and I remember preferring the athmosphere at my current workplace. Tonight I counted about 5 inappropriate sexually tinted "jokes" and hints in the space of this 4 hour reunion alone. A remarkable experience, and one showing that the active management commitment at my present workplace works, and I like it a LOT better that way. I'm quite over the frat house humor that some of the all-male groups have. I remember asking a co-workers 10 and 15 years ago to remove pictures and screen savers of nude females from my immediate working environment, and these guys thought it no big deal and overreaction from my side. I'm glad to work now in surroundings where my management would respond to this without me having to take action myself. And I am amazed that this type of frathouse atmosphere still exists in this day and age.

Food was not good again, but at least I did put in the 25 mins run before my real day started. Tomorrow I'm biking to work again.

have a great day all,
rabbit

Rabbit- I'm surprised that the frat house atmosphere still exists, too. I was a techy in my first career, too, and the only female 99% of the time. I remember being mortified just to walk across the building in some places. I really thought that had changed.

Shannon- :carrot: for getting stronger!!! and please don't break your neck. Here's hoping your dental work didn't affect your drug screen! :dizzy:

Lydia- You are juggling sooo may things. It's no wonder you feel off kilter and out of sorts. And don't forget that you are a semi-single mom these days. :hugs:

My house is still a wreck, though I do have a newly drywalled and spackled kitchen ceiling. The messy part (sanding) is scheduled for tomorrow. They did a good job upstairs of "quarantining" the area so that there wasn't too much dust all over, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Still do not have plumbing in the bathroom :(:(:(:( I'm getting angry now, but it doesn't do much good.

CF workout yesterday was HEAVY 1 rep max front squats. I had a pr for front squats of 155 pounds! And it was the first time that my forearms weren't sore, so I'm getting more flexible as well. I must still be doing something wrong, tho, because I have a bruise on my collarbone. Not terrible, but I can feel it.

Today was a lot of jumping around- my least favorite kind of workout.
In sets of 21,18,15,12,9,6,and 3:
burpees
kettlebell high pulls (I like these)
box jumps

We started and ended with a 400 meter run. My ending run was more like a power walk and I did an extra lap so that another woman whom I'm friendly with would not be out finishing up along in the dark. Kind of creepy.

Food is back on track- dh is home and I do much better with him around.

Have a good one!

Mel

Hey ladies, I was just popping in to catch up on reading, so I don't get behind. I'm enjoying the rest week, and getting the house back in shape, starting to do some planning for Christmas. Haven't done any workouts yet, but have been staying active with house cleaning and projects around here.

Birch, hope you and the DS will recover quickly.

Shannon and Mel, congrats on the PRs this week!

I need to do some research into DOMS and fluid retention. I don't really like two pounds for some abs I did in front of the TV!
Is there a sticky? I should check stumptuous.

Susan, I would look at the diet within in the last few days, sodium intake as well as a drop in water/fluid intake more than the crunches. Just a thought. M weight can fluctuate two to three pounds just on hormones alone. Seriously, and if I ate a meal heavy with carbs at dinner or just had something to eat after 8pm in the evening. Alll of these things will show a slight gain or non loss. Combine that with a heavy leg day and one could get really discouraged if they didn't know better. :dizzy:

Bottom line, keep moving, drink the water, keep it clean. It's all good.

Mel, oh the joys of updating a home. Well, when it's all done it will be wonderful. Just hang in there. Major impressive front squats by the way! Wow. And how nice to run that extra lap so the other CFitter wasn't alone. Not surprised that you did it though. :goodvibes:

SO! The light arrived last night. Plugged it in this am for half an hour while I was studying and now I can't see anything. :cool: The cat did her best to block it from me and the kids all had to have a turn with it during breakfast. I like it though. I'll let you all know what I think of it after a few weeks. Wish it produced a little warmth too. Kind of chilly sitting in the kitchen with the jammies and my books...

Decided to do the workouts every other day and set the rest of the time to ,,,wait for it...studying. It seems like a more realistic balance for right now. My goal is to test Dec. 5th. I also have a mj holiday party for that evening to blow off some steam. Great incentive.

Enjoy everyone. :coffee:

Lydia, glad the light finally arrived! Funny about not being able to see, lol. I can just see you there, blinking and staring at the white spots on your eyes, feeling your way around the kitchen. :lol3:

Today is Veteran's Day, and the wod at my gym is 11-11-11, 11 wall ball, 11 pull-ups, 11 rounds. :faint: So thankful that I'm missing that one, I confess! Instead, I'll be doing the water heater shuffle, which probably won't be any more fun...I hate plumbing!

Cheryl - jeesh, that wod sounds completely unpleasant. :)

Lydia - glad you got your light box!

Mel - I wasn't taking a drug screen, I was administering them to my employees. Much better that way. :) :high: on the 155!

Susan - second to what Lydia said about the water retention. Ab work doesn't usually make me retain water, but just about everything else does, and usually with a two day delay before I see it on the scale.
Spent the first half of my day moving boxes and assembling shelves at our storage unit... 2.5 hours only got one set of shelves done. Ick. Hopefully the rest will go faster as I know the height for each shelf now. I'm trying to decide if lifting and moving and stacking and lifting again somewhere in the range of 75 boxes at or varying 50-75 pounds apiece qualifies as my UB workout for the day or if I still have to do it when I get home. Today is the 'push' day of my split... Hmm...

Good day everyone!

I'm off today. The gym is closed so I may do something here, or just take an extra rest day. :) I slept late (7:45 :lol: ) and have been doing not much of anything around the house. Weather is nasty and I'm happy not to be going out.

Cheryl - I'd be happy to skip that workout too, and also the water heater one - btdt!

Flyby for Note to self... Moving lots of boxes and lifting shelves in the morning + heavy for me UB workout in the evening = jelly arms.

Feels good though. :)

Lydia- I don't think you are supposed to stare at the light :o I just put mine about 12-15 inches from my face while I eat breakfast and do a quick read through the morning paper.

CF was brutal tonight:

1 minute of as many dead lifts as you can do at 75% 1 rep max
rest 1 minute
1 minute of wall balls
rest 1 minute
repeat five times

Doesn't look too bad, but this was one where I was just EXHAUSTED and dripping.

Mel

Hi all,

Just dropping in to report I biked to work yesterday, so another hour of exercise in the bag. food is awfull. I have not weight for the past couiple of days, I'm afraid of what I would see. I'm swamped with work and I eat from that. OTOH I feel that the exercise regime is agreeing with me, and even if I have gained back my entire 3 pd loss of the last months, I do imagine that I look a bit better and my pants have a better fit. I might even be developming some muscle.

Lydia - I second Mel: I do not think you are supposed to stare into the bright light for the entire 15 - 20 minutes. Pleas google this, as it might eeven be bad for your eyes to do so. I also just put min close to me & read & breakfasted in front of it.

Hi :wave: to everyone,
have a great day all,
rabbit

Good morning!

Two or three days would have been legs, yup. About half of it is gone this morning.

I definitely could clean up my foods. A few things I'm eating are convenient, from a calorie point of view, but not clean.

You guys! I'm not staring into it, :lol: It's about arms length away and I sit with my shoulder turned a little away from it so it's in my line of vision indirectly as I read. Every once in a while the instructions suggest looking up and glancing at it.

It's pretty cool though. I did find that I had a little more energy yesterday but there wasn't a workout so that may be why. I studied pretty much all day and began to rake the 1/2 acre backyard with the remaining hour of daylight left. My goal is to get the yard winterized before turkey day.

Cheryl, so who won? You or the water heater? It is great to get caught up around the house every once in a while. I find I need to take that kind of a break about once every season. Holidays, yardwork, and general upkeep/repairs are great "recovery days."

Mel: That workout looks easy enough to remember. But wall balls are tough. Three rounds, doable. Five, glutton for exhaustion.

Susan: Glad the scale is sliding back down again. Apples and lowfat cheese sticks are pretty convenient. So are hard boiled eggs... just being a :devil: over here. I sometimes get trapped into the protein bar habit but I feel a lot better if I remind myself there are other options and go for those first.

Silverbirch, How are you feeling today? Hopefully you and your son are recovering. :hug:

Okay. Off to plan my Level 3 cardio session today. :faint: ...let's just say it's been a while. :fr:

I'm going in for some cardio and light lifting. Light. Lifting. Need to remind myself of this. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter in between the workout, a shower, picking up kids, dr. appointments, homework, and dinner. :chin:

Thank you for the hug, Lydia. We are soldiering on. I am not right but no longer fully ill. I'm doing a bit of gentle rebounding (gets the lymph moving, don't you know) and stretching each morning. So I'm not feeling that terrible gymn withdrawal niggle. The DB may be OK for school tomorrow but his stamina is still pretty shot. Could be a whole week off (should have just packed our bags & gone to stay with Cheryl!). BUT ... We have cracked the winter socks & fleeces challenge, got the long-case (grandmother) clock to go and checked there are enough Christmas cards. All great achievements in my book.

My weight is plummeting but I don't feel much like eating. Help me out here - a connection?? Or is it just a coincidence?? Each meal, though small, seems perfectly formed. Macronutrients, Susan, are looking good. This is something to take forward into my Well Future. Not that I was too far off before but prob too many carbs.

Love to all. Give yourself due credit when something goes right. It's a tricky time of year whichever way you look at it.