What is your go-to workout?

Happy Friday! I've been good about my workouts this week and am about to do a total body workout right now. This one includes chin-ups and dips!
Hope you will have a wonderful weekend!

 

Still sticking with the plan and feeling better everyday. Fall felt like a setback and I'm up to 127 lbs, but it feels good to get back on track.

 

That's awesome! I definitely don't hate you. Keep doing what you're doing cuz it's workin'!

 

This is Week #4 /12 and I'm sticking with the program. It's the last week in phase one before I start phase two next week.
I'm back into making black bean soups with various meats.
Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

 

Yum.

 

I'm doing a hold at 220. The women at work are starting to complain about me being scrawny. I need to let my skin to catch up, regardless.

 

Christmas party as ghost of Christmas Past 1980

 

These are great pictures! Hope you're enjoying this holiday season. You've been through a lot this year.
I feel this way too, my skin still needs to catch up and reshape to my bones again . It's a weird feeling, isn't it?

 

Christmas is already a week away? How did this happen?... It will be my first Christmas without my dad and I'm sure I'll feel sad.
All holidays have been very non-traditional by choice for the last 7 years. This year my holiday decorations are in the gardens. I have papayas in the trees, Hawaiian Chili Peppers that look like Christmas lights, and Lilikois heavy on the vines that look like giant ornaments.

I would love to do more posts especially in the garden section because I have lots of updates and off-grid construction projects, but I think for now this is my one safe corner of the internet.

What are your plans for the holidays?

 

Got my total body workout done early today! Including 3x12 chin ups and dips. It feels good to stick with things and challenge myself. I'm glad that I had the fuel when I needed it this summer, but I'm also glad that my workouts aren't so heavily fueled by grief, sadness, and a little rage.
This feels healthy.
Hope you will all have a wonderful weekend!

 

Christmas with the kids plus families then we all rented a house in Galveston for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afterwards. Sunday, we drive to New Braunfels for a baby shower and head home to Dallas.

 

That sounds like fun. Christmas on the water. I hope you will have a very Merry Christmas with your family and will travel safely!

 

Week #5 is here and I'm feeling motivated and more like myself again. Finally sleeping better too. My current priorities are getting enough protein and sleep.
I love the fact that I'm reading again! Last year I read 111 books and this year my goal was to read more, but I had to readjust my goal to 75 books since I was lagging so far behind. I'm currently at 81/ 75 books now.

 

This year one of my goals is to address the lower right back / hip pain that I've been feeling for the last 3 years. I used to just say that I hold my stress there, but I'm going to try to heal it with corrective exercises and stretches. So far it seems like I could have what is called "anterior pelvic tilt."

I'm going to do this specific class 4 times a week and see if it helps:


On another note, I used to think that I carry my stress in my shoulder blades and I had a really tight area that became a "blank spot" at the beginning of 2025. It got so bad that I got massages to try to get some relief. Now, my shoulder blades don't bother me at all and I feel so thankful about this. I have renewed faith in our body's ability to heal.

What is a pain point that you are trying to heal and address?

 

My hip/groin area is still bothering me a bit. You’d think I’d go to a PT or doctor but you’d be wrong. Lol.

 

I have shoulder pain and arm numbness if I sleep on my side with my arm elevated.

I supposed something was calcified and bound up that now moves with the weight loss. I am mostly just stretching and doing mild kettle bell work with each arm and shoulder.

 

I'm sorry that this is still bothering you. Do you remember how you got the injury? I also got a referral for PT for my shoulder and was put on the waiting list and they fell off the map. I'm thankful that my shoulder has healed.
Now it's time to tackle this lower back / hip business.
Let's see what we can do to heal these injuries, shall we?

 

Ouch! I have a similar experience where my hand and arm will go numb during sleep. Sometimes my hand will be stuck in a really tight fist. Who knew that numbness (or not feeling) could be so uncomfortable and painful?
It's really good that you have a stretching and strengthening routine in place. Keep us updated on this. I'm also going to try to see what I can do to lessen this arm and hand numbness.

 

Merry Christmas Eve!

I did my total body workout today. I find it interesting that when I do Romanian Deadlifts and squats with both legs, the sides feel so different. I'm definitely a lot tighter on my right side which is the "problem side."
So far I've gotten a little over 16,000 steps. It has been super rainy all week and this is definitely affecting my step count.

I hope you will all have a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for being here!