Severine Wins Without Fighting

[Elastigirl]

17 minutes ago, Severine said:

weet disco ball animation when you reach 10K steps

I thought the fireworks on the Charge2 were cool, but now I realize how much I am missing. I want a disco ball animation too

[Tobbe]

8 hours ago, Severine said:

This morning I went walking and apple picking with my awesome friend K and his girlfriend

 

Sounds like a wonderful start to the day! We need more of those days, eh?

 

The disco ball was a fun twist   Next time you should do some disco moves when you see it!  

 

8 hours ago, Severine said:

Basically instead of being so angry, I just hope he is able to get help and figure stuff out.

 

 Again, showing just how big your heart is! Way to go!

[Severine]

Ugggggh I think I might be starting to get sick. D picked up some kind of cold on his business trip to Texas, and I think he infected me because this afternoon I started feeling the beginnings of a sore throat.

 

[Severine]

Over 11K steps today, woot. I've gotten into a nice routine where I vary the length of my evening walk based on how many steps I've taken earlier in the day, and that seems to work out pretty well.

 

Food today started off meh because I skipped breakfast, but then I had a nice tuna sandwich from the local Italian deli (they mix the tuna with olive oil instead of mayo, much tastier the Italian way IMO) and for dinner had some leftover chicken and roast veggies that L batch cooked on the weekend, so it ended up all right. Still ate more chocolate than I would have liked (at my desk while working, always a bad move and I know better, but...) but didn't go crazy with it, so not worth dwelling on. 

 

I gargled with salt water to try to fend off the start of the sore throat, and as soon as I finish this post I'm going to bed. Hopefully I'll wake up feeling better, or at least the same and not worse.

 

And now just because, enjoy some advice form a Latin proverb LOLcat...one of my nerdy amusements. I have to justify my undergrad degree somehow, no?

 

 

(One who dares nothing, enjoys nothing)

[Arkania]

Crossing fingers you get not sick!

Otherwise: Get well soon

[Mad Hatter]

I just trawled through your log and want say thanks for being so candid about your experiences (though I hate that you're having to go through with this in the first place) 

 

7 hours ago, Severine said:

And now just because, enjoy some advice form a Latin proverb LOLcat...one of my nerdy amusements. I have to justify my undergrad degree somehow, no?

  

 

(One who dares nothing, enjoys nothing)

100% worth years of impoverishment followed by decades of debt. Because kittens!

[Tobbe]

15 hours ago, Severine said:

Ugggggh I think I might be starting to get sick. D picked up some kind of cold on his business trip to Texas, and I think he infected me because this afternoon I started feeling the beginnings of a sore throat.

 

I've been feeling the throat too  For me it's usually a sign I haven't been sleeping enough. So whenever I feel it start coming on, I try to make an effort to sleep a little more. That usually helps!

[Tobbe]

9 hours ago, Severine said:

but didn't go crazy with it

 

That's great! No? I think that sounds like a small victory!

 

9 hours ago, Severine said:

One who dares nothing, enjoys nothing

 

Love this! So true!

[Severine]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

I just trawled through your log and want say thanks for being so candid about your experiences (though I hate that you're having to go through with this in the first place) 

 

I didn't use to be forthcoming about difficulties at all - I never wanted to show weakness or admit faults or ask for support or anything like that. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I began to realize the damage we can do to ourselves that way. And it wasn't until maybe a year ago that I began to translate that realization into an attempt to change my ways. So the attempts here to be candid and open are actually quite selfish - I am doing it because I am trying to become a healthier, more balanced, more successful person. 

 

And I think being honest about challenges does help. Not telling everyone you meet, of course, but being honest with yourself and trusted friends and family. Obviously I don't want to go from one extreme to the other - I don't want to talk constantly about challenges or become helpless. But I'm starting to see that when you're prepared to admit your flaws and challenges, you can redirect the energy you were using to try to appear strong and infallible into actually accomplishing things. What a novel idea!   

 

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

100% worth years of impoverishment followed by decades of debt. Because kittens!

 

(It's necessary to master money, not serve it)

 

There's a Latin lolcat for every situation   

 

8 hours ago, Arkania said:

Crossing fingers you get not sick!

Otherwise: Get well soon

32 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

I've been feeling the throat too  For me it's usually a sign I haven't been sleeping enough. So whenever I feel it start coming on, I try to make an effort to sleep a little more. That usually helps!

 

Throat was worse this morning but I'm battling it with homemade tomato soup, throat soothing tea, and occasional gargling with salt water. And thankfully I am still feeling well enough to work and do stuff, so not a big deal yet. Cheering for my body to battle it off before it develops into more symptoms.

 

I think you're right about the importance of sleep, Tobbe, and actually I slept terribly last night and I think that's part of why I feel worse today. Sadly I sleep with a very heavy snorer and I often find it impossible to fall asleep (or stay asleep) as a result. About 3 a.m. I gave up and went and slept on the couch, and then managed to get a couple hours, but it wasn't deep quality sleep.

 

Anyone have any magic recommendations to stop snoring? We've tried a few things and nothing seems to work reliably.

[Mad Hatter]

6 minutes ago, Severine said:

So the attempts here to be candid and open are actually quite selfish - I am doing it because I am trying to become a healthier, more balanced, more successful person

Oh I don’t care if it’s for selfish reasons, I’ve concluded the same thing and shamelessly use these forums for this purpose.  But I still appreciate it.

 

8 minutes ago, Severine said:

There's a Latin lolcat for every situation   

 

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[Tobbe]

30 minutes ago, Severine said:

Sadly I sleep with a very heavy snorer and I often find it impossible to fall asleep (or stay asleep) as a result. About 3 a.m. I gave up and went and slept on the couch, and then managed to get a couple hours, but it wasn't deep quality sleep.

 

Anyone have any magic recommendations to stop snoring? We've tried a few things and nothing seems to work reliably.

 

It's not unheard of to use earplugs... I don't know if I could do it or not, but if I was desperate enough I'd definitely try it!

[TimovieMan]

On 10/14/2018 at 2:12 AM, Severine said:

Edited to add: I remembered that @TimovieMan asked for a report about how I like the Charge 3. It's now a few days after this initial assessment and I still love it!

 

Good to hear, thanks. I've wishlisted it for Christmas.

[Severine]

@fleaball came over this afternoon and we walked down to the new ramen place...om nom nom. Delicious. It was good to hang out, and I think it's good to get a little bit of fresh air while fighting illness, if you feel well enough to go out. At least, I told myself it was good for me. 

 

The battle against TexasPlague is going okay. At least, I don't think my symptoms are any worse. I napped for a couple hours earlier today, and have been gargling with salt water every three hours or so, and so far it seems like I'm holding my ground against the sickness. Fingers crossed, because tomorrow is a busy day and certainly no time for napping. 

 

Yesterday D and L and I came to a sad but necessary decision regarding our planned vacation to Italy and Switzerland in December: we cancelled the tickets   We have a credit with the airline now, so the money isn't lost at least. The problem is our dog - he's elderly, and not in great health, and we've never left him alone for more than a week, and that time we left him with a friend he knew well. Sadly that friend now lives far away, so can't look after him. So while we could pay someone to watch him, we're worried he'll think we abandoned him with some stranger, and then if he dies while we're gone, sad and alone, we'll never forgive ourselves. So....we're rescheduling the trip. Obviously there's some disappointment, but I think it's the right thing to do. We can always travel later once he's passed on.

 

7 hours ago, Tobbe said:

It's not unheard of to use earplugs... I don't know if I could do it or not, but if I was desperate enough I'd definitely try it!

 

I actually really love sleeping with earplugs - it's when I sleep the soundest. But my doctor says it's dangerous to use them too much because it can lead to ear infections. So I try to only use them when I absolutely have to. And especially now when I'm already sick, it seems like a bad idea.

 

7 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Good to hear, thanks. I've wishlisted it for Christmas.

 

Hope you get your wish    If you do, feel free to add me on Fitbit. Link is in my signature.

 

[Severine]

Oh, also, I decided yesterday to do something that has helped me in the past - completely cut out caffeinated beverages. Every time I do it, I see improvements in my sleep and anxiety levels, and I start to feel better overall. And then I think....well, I feel good! Surely a little caffeinated tea won't hurt...and then caffeine slowly returns to my life.

 

 

This time I want to try a different tactic. Instead of thinking of feeling healthy as a situation that allows me wiggle room to do unhealthy behaviour without immediate consequence, I want to think about that feeling as a positive and valuable thing worth preserving. Instead of considering whether or not I am healthy enough to "get away with" the unhealthy thing I am tempted to do, I want to just consider whether it feels worth it to trade a bit of that good healthy feeling for the indulgence. Sometimes it will feel worth it, no doubt, but I need to ask myself that question. If I skip right to thinking about whether I can get away with it, like I do now, it assumes that I always want to do an unhealthy thing as long as I can get away with it. And I don't think that's actually true - it's just a way of thinking brought on by binge mentality.

 

Anyway, I kind of wish I hadn't chosen to cut out caffeine right as I'm already feeling crummy from fighting off the TexasPlague, but I'm committed now (day 2!) so I'm just trying to ignore the withdrawal headache, and daydream about how great I'll feel in a week or so   

[Tobbe]

7 hours ago, Severine said:

the new ramen place...om nom nom. Delicious. It was good to hang out, and I think it's good to get a little bit of fresh air while fighting illness,

 

Ramen, that's kind of like broth (with a little extra food thrown in for good measure), and broth is exactly what the doctor usually subscribes when you're not feeling too well, right? And fresh air is also one of those old wisdom things that's good for you. So, win, win! 

 

7 hours ago, Severine said:

Yesterday D and L and I came to a sad but necessary decision regarding our planned vacation to Italy and Switzerland in December: we cancelled the tickets

 

Ohh, no! That sucks  But I get your reasoning. And as you said - those places aren't going anywhere, you can always go visit later!

 

7 hours ago, Severine said:

my doctor says it's dangerous to use them too much because it can lead to ear infections.

 

Interesting. Never thought of that. But now that you mention it, I have heard it in the context of listening to too much music with headphones. When I first heard that I thought it was just a scare tactic used by grownups to get their kids to stop listening to loud music all the time, and instead pay attention to what their teachers/parents/other grownups were saying. But maybe there was some truth behind it after all! 

[Mad Hatter]

4 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Interesting. Never thought of that. But now that you mention it, I have heard it in the context of listening to too much music with headphones. When I first heard that I thought it was just a scare tactic used by grownups to get their kids to stop listening to loud music all the time, and instead pay attention to what their teachers/parents/other grownups were saying. But maybe there was some truth behind it after all! 

Maybe with in-ear headphones but it probably really was a scare tactic.  

 

Shame about your doggo and travel plans.  

[Severine]

8 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Interesting. Never thought of that. But now that you mention it, I have heard it in the context of listening to too much music with headphones. When I first heard that I thought it was just a scare tactic used by grownups to get their kids to stop listening to loud music all the time, and instead pay attention to what their teachers/parents/other grownups were saying. But maybe there was some truth behind it after all! 

 

3 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Maybe with in-ear headphones but it probably really was a scare tactic.  

 

Yeah I think Mad Hatter is right about this one...the earplugs can cause infections because they're soft and absorbent and go further into your ear canal...but the earbuds that go into your ears are usually hard plastic, and they just sit in the outside, not the actual canal...so I think you can continue listening to music as much as you want   

 

3 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Shame about your doggo and travel plans.  

 

Yeah it's obviously a disappointment but how could we leave this guy alone and sad?

 

[Mad Hatter]

Adorbs! <3

[Severine]

Ugh. This cold is giving me a really rough time. Progressed overnight from just a sore throat to also being stuffy and coughing a bit. Stupid Texan plague. I hate being sick. It makes me feel weak and trapped and frustrated with my body. Sometimes that leads me to dumb things like not giving myself adequate time to rest and then of course I just make things worse. I'm trying not to do that but ugh, I still feel so crappy both physically and mentally.

 

I miss being in good shape. I miss being able to go hiking and rock climbing and play soccer with friends on a whim and have it all be easy and enjoyable. I miss being able to walk 10 or 20 miles in a day and not even get tired. And on days like this it's so easy to get frustrated and judgemental of myself for ruining all of that, for squandering it. And I know that's not helpful, and I'm trying to focus on taking care of myself in the here and now and looking forward, but on days like this, how can I not feel regret? I keep thinking of all the things that could have avoided this. If I hadn't had that nerve injury at work, if I hadn't become so sedentary during the recovery, if I hadn't let that sedentary rut keep going for so long even once the injury was no longer a major factor, if I'd been better about my eating habits, if I'd kept up with weight training, etc. etc. Obviously all of that is just wasted energy but on days like this I definitely think about it.

 

Part of what makes it difficult is the days I am most frustrated with how far I need to go to regain my former fitness level tend to be the days, like today, where I'm too sick to do anything about it. And on the days when I feel more able, I know the sensible thing is the slow and steady approach, getting my conditioning back through longer and longer walks, and starting out with body weight training, etc. But even though I know that's smart, even though I know pushing further is just likely to lead to more injury, I sometimes feel like I'm slacking or like I'm going too slowly and I'll never get there. Hence the feeling trapped. 

 

Ugh. I don't want to wallow in doubts or self-pity. Going to go do something constructive.

[Tobbe]

4 hours ago, Severine said:

Ugh. This cold is giving me a really rough time. Progressed overnight from just a sore throat to also being stuffy and coughing a bit. Stupid Texan plague. I hate being sick. It makes me feel weak and trapped and frustrated with my body. Sometimes that leads me to dumb things like not giving myself adequate time to rest and then of course I just make things worse. I'm trying not to do that but ugh, I still feel so crappy both physically and mentally.

 

You need to rest. Give yourself the self-love you need and let yourself sleep more. Taking it slow is the fastest way to getting well again!

 

4 hours ago, Severine said:

I miss being in good shape. I miss being able to go hiking and rock climbing and play soccer with friends on a whim and have it all be easy and enjoyable. I miss being able to walk 10 or 20 miles in a day and not even get tired. And on days like this it's so easy to get frustrated and judgemental of myself for ruining all of that, for squandering it. And I know that's not helpful, and I'm trying to focus on taking care of myself in the here and now and looking forward, but on days like this, how can I not feel regret? I keep thinking of all the things that could have avoided this. If I hadn't had that nerve injury at work, if I hadn't become so sedentary during the recovery, if I hadn't let that sedentary rut keep going for so long even once the injury was no longer a major factor, if I'd been better about my eating habits, if I'd kept up with weight training, etc. etc. Obviously all of that is just wasted energy but on days like this I definitely think about it.

 

You know you've been able to do all the things you want to do before. Let that be encouragement and motivation that you can get there again. You know it's not impossible, because you have been there! You know you can get there again. But let it take time! At least as long as it took you to get from there to where you are now. You're already doing great. As you say, on good days you feel like you've done some progress, right? Try to remember that even on bad days!

 

4 hours ago, Severine said:

Part of what makes it difficult is the days I am most frustrated with how far I need to go to regain my former fitness level tend to be the days, like today, where I'm too sick to do anything about it. And on the days when I feel more able, I know the sensible thing is the slow and steady approach, getting my conditioning back through longer and longer walks, and starting out with body weight training, etc. But even though I know that's smart, even though I know pushing further is just likely to lead to more injury, I sometimes feel like I'm slacking or like I'm going too slowly and I'll never get there. Hence the feeling trapped. 

 

Ugh. I don't want to wallow in doubts or self-pity. Going to go do something constructive.

 

 *virtual hugs* 

[Jean]

Tardigrades win the slow and steady way. Sadness is a part of life just as well as the coldness of space. Illness is that time where you dehydrate yourself, curve into a ball and wait for when you'll be out of the volcano to get back to your normal life.

 

Also, we miss a 'cheering you up' reaction smiley.

[Arkania]

Slow and steady, two words I can't connect to myself either
But you know (and I know) sometimes this is it. We learn from past mistakes, don't we?

Sometimes it needs a lot of the same mistakes (me ) to eventually learn from it. Sometimes the enlightenment comes early.

 

6 hours ago, Severine said:

Ugh. I don't want to wallow in doubts or self-pity. Going to go do something constructive.

:hug:

Sometimes it's ok to complain (even that is, what everyone in my thread said ).

Tomorrow will be better
(Ok, when is your "tomorrow"? I'm constantly getting confused with the time zones here.)

[Tobbe]

2 hours ago, Jean said:

where you dehydrate yourself

 

Huh?

 

2 hours ago, Jean said:

Also, we miss a 'cheering you up' reaction smiley.

 

Don't get me started... This forum has horrible emojis! I tried my best with my "hug" emoji I posted, but I'm not really a fan of how it looks. Kind of hard to tell what it's supposed to look like. Here's a bigger version.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I completely get you, it's sooo difficult to not compare yourself to your past self. And it's fine to "mourn" your past self for a little bit, or use the thoughts to get inspired to get back to your prime shape. But in the end there's no point in dwelling on it, what's done is done. The only thing you can do is to try to get stronger relative to your current self in your new body and celebrate the tiny wins along the way! Easier said than done, I know.  

 

Hugs to you!

[Jean]

2 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Huh? 

 

Tardigrades survive in the intersideral void by dehydrating themselves, curling themselves into a ball and waiting for better times : https://gizmodo.com/the-incredible-way-tardigrades-survive-total-dehydratio-1793333482

 

Which doesn't mean that Severine should dehydrate her(him?)self, of course, just that enduring is hard but nicer times are ahead if one manages to survive the toughest ones.

 

Tardigrades are survivors, it takes someone of taste to choose them as their representative animal.