The Score So Far (Health & Fitness)

[Jersey Girl]

You make me feel SO guilty Jersey baby! I have gained 40 pounds and am a flat no good slob . I snack too much, eat way late, have lost all discipline and desire, and basically am applying for next year's Wal Mart Santa Claus... \
On a serious note, I really have gained 40 pounds. I have SO MUUUUUUUUUUUUCH work to do on myself! Ayiyi.....

Awww...and winter is the hardest time of all with the cold and snow we both get! You just want to curl up on front of the fire with your blankie, a good book, and a snack! I'm in such crap shape I have to start with stretching for a couple of weeks or so as a first step!

Well...follow this thread and watch as I rise up from the primordial ooze! Consider going with!

[Jersey Girl]

Finally got out of this house to pick up refills and swiped a couple of salad fixin's to hold me over.

My dinner:

1. Mixed salad greens
2. Tomatoes
3. Red Beans
4. Ranch dressing
5. Sprinkle of shredded parmesan.

I have never given up Ranch this whole entire time and still managed to drop poundage. Anyway, tomorrow I add what's left of the broccoli and do grocery pick up for more salad stuff. We're low on fresh stuff right now. I can live off salads year round though it's hard picking up in winter only because of snows. I pile on a ton of fresh vegetables (sometimes throw in red grapes) and go for it. Pop in either beans or grilled chicken. (Thank you George Foreman!) I like the iceberg salad mix which really isn't nutritious. So...add to that baby spinach and it's a go.

Beans are an incomplete protein. You can find ways online how to make whatever it is into a dish that amounts to complete protein. You just combo different stuff.

[Philo Sofee]

Wait..... don't beans make you.........fahhhhhhrt? This is why the ancient wisdom of the Pythagoreans was sooooooo profound. NO beans, because the expulsion of cacophany from the lower extremities was annoying.....
And don't forget the song "My Mama Told Me Not to Put Beans in My Ears."

[Jersey Girl]

One pound down! And let me tell you (the reader), it was climbing up into 118+ territory so I think I did okay for myself.

Still in stretch mode and have got the daily diet back in line. The Ghirardelli Snowmen are staring at me. I refuse to make eye contact. Standing my ground! Go me!

[Philo Sofee]

One pound down! And let me tell you (the reader), it was climbing up into 118+ territory so I think I did okay for myself.

Still in stretch mode and have got the daily diet back in line. The Ghirardelli Snowmen are staring at me. I refuse to make eye contact. Standing my ground! Go me!

Go you is RIGHT! Rock on sistuh, Rock on! I am........... not telling yet.

[Jersey Girl]

WATCH THIS.

From 60 Minutes:

Living into your 90s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqKfL3z5yM4

Listen to what this says about exercise, caffiene, weight, and longevity, and the connection between blood pressure and dementia. Just watch the whole thing!

[Jersey Girl]

I just want to share one of my secret weapons. I get them from Walmart. When I'm not eating fresh veggies or fruits, or popcorn for snack, this is my regular.

[Xenophon]

Omicron came with a vengeance for the Xenophon house these last few weeks, throwing a mighty wrench in my current goals.

SO got hit first and she quarantined in the other part of the house. Even though she was isolated I chose not to go out either for fear of spreading. Resigned myself to at-home workouts and trying to dial in my nutrition another notch. Also spent some time really fleshing out what my friend and my 12-week preparation will look like, that is the hard part where we work on cutting the body fat percentage and will kick off the last week of March.

Regardless of my best efforts I ended up catching it middle of last week and man did it hit hard. I don't know what my personal issue is with COVID but it seems perfectly designed to kick my butt. Despite vax and booster and a run with previous versions it still put me down hard, today was the first day I really felt like getting up and moving around. I'm suffering from an oblique strain that makes moving (read as "coughing") really difficult and uncomfortable. Down 6 pounds, which might sound nice to some but definitely is too early in my bodybuilding cycle. If anything, I'm looking to put a few pounds on right now.

Despite all that we'll just try to get up tomorrow and be a little better. Move a little more. Make a few more positive choices. Hope all is well with the everyone else here and I hope your current struggles are light.

[Jersey Girl]

Omicron came with a vengeance for the Xenophon house these last few weeks, throwing a mighty wrench in my current goals.

SO got hit first and she quarantined in the other part of the house. Even though she was isolated I chose not to go out either for fear of spreading. Resigned myself to at-home workouts and trying to dial in my nutrition another notch. Also spent some time really fleshing out what my friend and my 12-week preparation will look like, that is the hard part where we work on cutting the body fat percentage and will kick off the last week of March.

Regardless of my best efforts I ended up catching it middle of last week and man did it hit hard. I don't know what my personal issue is with COVID but it seems perfectly designed to kick my butt. Despite vax and booster and a run with previous versions it still put me down hard, today was the first day I really felt like getting up and moving around. I'm suffering from an oblique strain that makes moving (read as "coughing") really difficult and uncomfortable. Down 6 pounds, which might sound nice to some but definitely is too early in my bodybuilding cycle. If anything, I'm looking to put a few pounds on right now.

Despite all that we'll just try to get up tomorrow and be a little better. Move a little more. Make a few more positive choices. Hope all is well with the everyone else here and I hope your current struggles are light.

Oh Xeno...losing weight on account of illness isn't a cause for celebration when you think of the suffering involved and in your case, it sounds counter to what your bodybuilding intentions are with your friend.

It seems that the Omicron experience is different for everyone. Some say they didn't even know they had it when tested, or it was just like a cold, some say bad sinus head aches and coughing, and then there are folks like yourself who go right on their butt with it.

I wish you a steady recovery. Be kind to yourself and listen to your body. Take your time. You'll catch up when you're meant to.

((((((All the Xeno people))))))

[Jersey Girl]

One pound down! And let me tell you (the reader), it was climbing up into 118+ territory so I think I did okay for myself.

Still in stretch mode and have got the daily diet back in line. The Ghirardelli Snowmen are staring at me. I refuse to make eye contact. Standing my ground! Go me!

Go you is RIGHT! Rock on sistuh, Rock on! I am........... not telling yet.

I'm doing okay so far! I wanted to use your post (and you) to raise an issue because I know I can relate it to you. If there is one thing that you and I have in common it's that we're both creative people. We get an idea about something, go off on a tear, and binge on it until we're "done".

I have a small bedroom that I turned into a studio for myself. I watch youtubers who demonstrate new products and always envision myself at my cleared off work tables with everything at my fingertips. That is NOT my reality. When I get an idea about doing something I explode the entire room doing it. I only do "clean" things in there except that I will do some controlled painting projects. Messy painting projects, I do those outside where I can brush, spray, roll and otherwise fling paint around.

I have a young person in my life who is 8 years old. She is my partner in art crime. When she was over here a few weeks ago, we were in the kitchen and she said to me "You just got an idea, didn't you!" and I said "Yes, I did. How do you know that?" and she said, "I SAW you get it." I asked, "You did? What does it look like when I get it?" She said, "Your eyes look up into your mind and then you go start looking for things right away."

Guilty as charged!

The reason I bring this up is because I don't think that creative folks are known to have good self discipline. I think that in an instant, our eyes look up into our minds, we set off on a journey and don't come back to earth until we're ready to land. Get it out of our system. When I am in my head, I will forget about time entirely. I won't do anything else besides what I am working on and I forget to cook meals. I count myself successful if when my little creative frenzy starts that I've got a large batch of something cooked so I can just reheat something then get back to whatever project I'm working on.

The reason I bring this up is because it is darn HARD for people like us to kick start exercise or get our daily intake of food under control because we inherently RESIST control. Controlling ourselves is like a death punch to us. I think it's only when we have outside controls like regular work hours or a school schedule, that we can conform. So, if you are struggling like I am struggling (In my case I'm only talking about remembering to stretch every day, how pathetic is that?) I just want to acknowledge that I get it.

I can no more schedule a creative project than I can schedule the start of a new fitness routine. I don't work that way. It has to come to me in the moment but once it does, you best believe I'll go for it.

You will, too, Philo Sofee.