Recovery Time

[A_Lurker]

Just getting ready to go home and synced up to look at where I was (mostly calorie-wise) and semi-plan dinner.  However, I was looking at this morning.  After being away from work for a week (and being semi-absent for various reasons the two weeks before my vacation) I knew I would be tied to my desk a bit today.  I decided to get up and do a mile or so on the treadmill before heading off to work.

I'm actually pretty happy that my recovery was so good in the morning.  I may still have a lot of weight to lose, but it definitely has been a positive change.  Of course, the downside of this is that all the walking around I did today (I made a point to move a lot) I never cracked into the cardio zone at all (something I would have done easily a year ago.

[WendyB]

That's awesome! Congrats!

[WavyDavey]

Congrats! That recovery curve looks good.

I've had a similar experience-- as the recovery time improves, I have to work harder to keep the heart rate in the peak zone. I used to be able to hit peak and kind of "coast" in peak and cardio without so much effort to sustain it.

[A_Lurker]

Yeah, I miss that.  I now have to work so much harder to bring the heart rate up.  Even after well over a year of exercise/weight loss, etc. I still know that I have to really make a point not to fall back into my natural pattern of doing as little as possible. 

[Nora58]

Nora and I are having the same issues. We have been off the trail due to rain in freezing cold, hail, snow finally  and came and looks like it will stay 4 miles yesterday and not get ice on top so we will try a few more today. I am back to my highest weight of 25 lbs from 104 lbs. My cardio seems like  a low number now so I am trying to be aware of what I am doing when it spikes.  My new meds make me tired and with the bad weather it is easy to eat and go back to bed. No more of that! Nora needs to lose 10 lbs so it is back to walking for her and a lot  yoga, pilates, light weights for me. I was looking at the river going by this morning and thought how often I read some one write " Oh no I gained 1 lb"and beat them selves up and then when they lose 1 lb same thing ' I only lost 1 lb".  I am going to celebrate the hell out of 1 lb when I lose it!. Hurting like hell right now but got to keep tweeking my workout so i can find a way to get stronger on top while walking takes care of the rest. Have a good week.

Lucinda and Nora

[Esya]

@Nora58

You cannot change the past, so no point in beating yourself up over it. Start from the situation you are in now and try your best. You are right to celebrate any progress! And every day that was hard or you feel like beating yourself up over just remember: tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities to make the right decisions.

[Nora58]

I was referring to other people beating them selves up. I have no problem losing the weight now that spring will soon be here and we can start our 5 mile walks every day. I just turned 60 and have worked and farmed all my life so staying active is part of me. Living up north and being in apt to be close to my kids has been a big change for the last 10 years. I have always had acres to work with for a garden so I find the grocery store rather dull but make do. Just miss the natural exercise that comes with living a working life where you naturally stay healthy with hard work and clean food.

[Esya]

@Nora58

Ah, I see, thanks for explaining 🙂 . Yes, the mall is boring in comparison to fields and nature.

[A_Lurker]

I never got the 'only 1 pound' thing when it comes to a loss.  I mean, do this for a year and you'll be down 52 pounds.  I think we as a society have been bamboozled into the thought that only fast overnight loss is considered a success.  I'd say it's the biggest loser syndrome but it's been decades that we've seen the ads promising unbelievable losses in a week, a month, etc.

My recent challenge from my primary care physician (although I don't think he issued it as a challenge) was to lose my second hundred pounds over three years.  This means losing less than a pound a week, which oddly is sometimes more challenging. 

[WavyDavey]

So true @A_Lurker! It's easy to forget that it takes years to get into a situation, and we tend to want results immediately. If I remember that it took years of overeating to get me here, it's easier to look at it as a long-term project.

I think what happens is often something happens in a person's life that causes a light bulb to go off over their head about getting in better shape. And there's an urgency to that (which is good for motivation) but maybe sets up a failure when results don't come as quickly as that urgency would like.