Regular moderate exercise log

On the 1st of March it will be 10 years since I ran my first parkrun. And it is over 2 years since I ran my most recent. Parkrun is my chosen challenge and motivator, always in my mind as I train. I suffer from painful, disabling anxiety around time, as well as multiple health problems, so the last thing I need is to enter and pay for a race on a specific date, which I will almost certainly fail to do. Parkrun is always an option, if not this Saturday then another.

Over the last 10 years, my summers have been monopilised by two long trips to walk in the southern French mountains. The winters were supposed to be for running and parkrun. But every winter another health problem. One year shingles, another acute bronchitis. For me, walking in France is now over. After a year in which I had to get used to sleeping with a CPAP-type machine (SO hard!), discovered that I have a serious problem with carbs, endured 15 days of continuous AF and, as usual, experienced acute stress over filling in my tax return, I am hoping and intending to settle down at last to some serious running and resistance training.

I recently discovered the site "Diabetes Strong" https://diabetesstrong.com and downloaded a schedule which I am finding surprisingly helpful: https://diabetesstrong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Goals-and-Motivation-Printout.pdf
At first I didn't think my plans would fit into this format, but I must have been unconsciously mulling it over, and suddenly I found I had things I wanted to write on it. In particular, the idea of having 1 week, 6 week and 6 month goals appeals to me. I also find Christel Oerum inspiring, although she is not a low carb enthusiast. I think, subconsciously, I imagine that if I train hard I will end up looking like her (terrific!

I'd love to be able to choose more than one rating, @Alexandra100.

So, consider yourself hugged, liked, creative and agreed with all at once! (And, maybe, one day, if I'm ever in your part of the world, we can do a walk together....)

Japes said:

I'd love to be able to choose more than one rating, @Alexandra100.

So, consider yourself hugged, liked, creative and agreed with all at once! (And, maybe, one day, if I'm ever in your part of the world, we can do a walk together....)

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Hello Japes, what a lovely post! Indeed, we have some beautiful walks here in Yorkshire, I'd love to show you one. Probably won't be marathon distance, though. And I'm pretty sure you walk faster than me. I too have no car (my strong preference, encouraged by the fact that here in West Yorkshire we have lots of public transport but horribly clogged-up roads.) So everything I eat is carried home on my back. I don't get on with shopping trolleys, except in shops, of course, where they are a blessing as I get to take my rucsac off for a while.

My daughter, who works as head of a huge primary school, has the same problem as you - she clocks up lots of steps but gets interrupted before 10 minutes has gone by to count for her active minutes. Do you have a floors target? I have set 50 for mine, but I don't always meet it. I live one mile uphill from the town centre, which makes trudging home with the shopping rather strenuous. Not as hard, though, as in my pre LCHF days, when I could be carrying home whole water melons, 10 peaches for £1 etc etc from the market. Plus cartons and cartons of low fat milk.

I make a sharp distinction between my bread and butter exercise, what Garmin categorises as "transportation", and my "real" exercise as in running and weight training. The "real" exercise covers far less miles but leaves me much more tired. I hope it also does me more good, but I have no proof of this. Once spring is here, I hope to be doing more "walking for fun". I guess I'd better get some training in, in case you come to visit!

Yippee! Back to normal-ish kind of active morning, just short of 10,000 steps before lunch, and all is well.

Now, what mischief can I get up to this afternoon now all the essential chores are done for the half-term....

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Alexandra100 said:

Do you have a floors target?

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My pedometer is not that sophisticated. But, the walk to and from work is down, flat, up, so I try to ensure I do at least one of the ups a day and regularly charge up and down the stairs at home.

Japes said:

Yippee! Back to normal-ish kind of active morning, just short of 10,000 steps before lunch, and all is well.

Now, what mischief can I get up to this afternoon now all the essential chores are done for the half-term....

.

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Just getting ready to go for my brisk 20 minute lunchtime walk, we have blue skies and sunshine so it should be nice.

jayney27 said:

Just getting ready to go for my brisk 20 minute lunchtime walk, we have blue skies and sunshine so it should be nice.

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My after-lunch walk was more of a stagger, as I went to collect my latest consignment of Eat Water Slim Konjac rice & penne from Holland & Barratt. 32 x 300g packets = only 9.6kg, but it felt heavier. We have blue skies and sun here too, but also strong gusts of wind and I was aware that my balance, never good, was worse when carrying this weight. Just as well I am no longer doing long distance walking tours! Today in principle should be a running day, but I don't fancy my chances, what with legs tired from yesterday's weight training and the wind. She who fights and runs away ...

Yes, a lot of my 50 floor total is made up of stairs in my house. How beneficial is that! Instead of feeling upset when I arrive upstairs only to have a senior moment and no idea what I came up for, I can rejoice in one more floor achieved.

Alexandra100 said:

My after-lunch walk was more of a stagger, as I went to collect my latest consignment of Eat Water Slim Konjac rice & penne from Holland & Barratt. 32 x 300g packets = only 9.6kg, but it felt heavier. We have blue skies and sun here too, but also strong gusts of wind and I was aware that my balance, never good, was worse when carrying this weight. Just as well I am no longer doing long distance walking tours! Today in principle should be a running day, but I don't fancy my chances, what with legs tired from yesterday's weight training and the wind. She who fights and runs away ...

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Well done on carrying the extra weight and for eating the Eat Water rice, I didn't fancy it when I saw a sample

jayney27 said:

Well done on carrying the extra weight and for eating the Eat Water rice, I didn't fancy it when I saw a sample

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Thanks! I'm guessing you can allow yourself more g carbs in a day than I can. Filling up with extra portions of courgetti or cauliflower rice is out of the question for me. I'm currently limiting myself to 100g low carb vegetable twice a day, solemnly weighing out the baby spinach leaves, so having something to fill that space left empty by the disappearance of rice, pasta, potatoes is bliss. And I honestly think that the EatwaterSlim rice is not strikingly different from real white rice. I suspect other brands are not so realistic. I started off with Zero noodles and found them very odd, though just acceptable in my deprived situation. The E.S. rice, penne, fettucine and penne are 100% nicer than that. I can't speak for the spaghetti and noodles, as I didn't try them. You do have to rinse off the liquid they are stored in, which smells.

Alexandra100 said:

Thanks! I'm guessing you can allow yourself more g carbs in a day than I can. Filling up with extra portions of courgetti or cauliflower rice is out of the question for me. I'm currently limiting myself to 100g low carb vegetable twice a day, solemnly weighing out the baby spinach leaves, so having something to fill that space left empty by the disappearance of rice, pasta, potatoes is bliss. And I honestly think that the EatwaterSlim rice is not strikingly different from real white rice. I suspect other brands are not so realistic. I started off with Zero noodles and found them very odd, though just acceptable in my deprived situation. The E.S. rice, penne, fettucine and penne are 100% nicer than that. I can't speak for the spaghetti and noodles, as I didn't try them. You do have to rinse off the liquid they are stored in, which smells.

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Hi, I don’t eat lots of carbs around 50-55g per day across all meals, sometimes it goes a little higher, sometimes lower. I also tried Bare Naked rice (it featured on Drsgons Den apparently) it was the strangest thing I have ever eaten and definitely not a substitute for the real thing. I do eat cauliflower rice occasionally and this evening I had cauliflower cous cous which was ok.

jayney27 said:

Hi, I don’t eat lots of carbs around 50-55g per day across all meals, sometimes it goes a little higher, sometimes lower. I also tried Bare Naked rice (it featured on Drsgons Den apparently) it was the strangest thing I have ever eaten and definitely not a substitute for the real thing. I do eat cauliflower rice occasionally and this evening I had cauliflower cous cous which was ok.

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There's a big difference between <20g carbs daily and 50-55.

Japes said:

Now, what mischief can I get up to this afternoon now all the essential chores are done for the half-term....

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Have a great half-term! I'm sure you deserve it, many times over. I imagine it will be an active one.

After a bad night, a disappointing day. Felt really nauseous in the morning, when the plan had been to go for a good hard run. After lots of sympathetic and constructive comments on the Forum, by lunch-time I was feeling better, but when I finally got out into the sunshine I only just managed to get to the end of 1 mile of run/walk. Retreated and instead walked down town to shop. So, a total of 4 miles, but not at all the training I'd intended.

Jayney, I think your Facebook video is private. Not only is it not letting me view it, it is stopping me from replying to your post!

Alexandra100 said:

Jayney, I think your Facebook video is private. Not only is it not letting me view it, it is stopping me from replying to your post!

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Not sure why it wouldn’t play it was my own video so I’ve deleted it, shame it showed a couple of donkeys playing tug with a deflated ball

After a late night and early morning spent miserably trying to deal with acute constipation, I unexpectedly had a really good afternoon session at my gym. I was able to up the weights on several of my exercises, so I think I must be getting stronger.

Frost forecast for tomorrow, so I'm wondering if I'll be able to run in the park.

A much better night and a much better run. Weight training tomorrow I hope. But when will I start the Hoovering?

jayney27 said:

Not sure why it wouldn’t play it was my own video so I’ve deleted it, shame it showed a couple of donkeys playing tug with a deflated ball

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All this unwanted privacy protection is as annoying as exaggerated Health&Safety restrictions.

I don't think hoovering counts as moderate exercise. @Alexandra100

After ten days or so being ultra-cautious about walking whilst getting used to being on insulin, I'm definitely back to my level of normal just in time to go back to work.