I am so glad I bought dumbbells. I can use them during the day while I’m sitting here at work, and honestly when I’m near having a panic attack due to work it helps give me something to focus on. It is making me consider either an under desk elliptical or under desk bike pedals to add more motion because getting to the bike in the living room sometimes doesn’t happen.
I have been stress eating and I have a wild week coming up ahead that I’m going to have to carefully meal plan, but I have at least been staying mostly on target. I’m trying to learn to be kinder to myself but that is a work in progress. Ended up getting take out tonight because work made me miserable, but I chose a salad and chicken noodle soup. ALSO got a cool sausage and sweet potato skillet meal tomorrow and chicken crust “flatbread” pizza on Friday night with a salad. Tomorrow for lunch will be another salad. Yum!
I love swimming. It’s an amazing form of exercise for people who have bad legs and knees. The water makes you feel weightless and kicking and the swimming motions of the arms work the entire body. Back pre-baby when I was doing well with losing weight, I lived at an apartment complex that I had access to the pool at late nights. I would go around 10-11pm at night every night and swim laps for a half hour or so for exercise. I was too self conscious to do much during the daytime.
Now, the swimsuit that I got at the end of last season is a little baggy. I still wore it today to the pool, during the daytime (while other people were there! -gasp-) and took the kiddo … we swam laps and played around for a few hours. I applied water resistant sunscreen but it wasn’t very resistant at all. Kiddo’s face is red and my face and shoulders/back are bright lobster red.
So here’s the thing that I just discovered: sunburns can effect blood sugar! The stress to the skin and inflammation can cause increased insulin resistance and increased gluconeogenesis, which means the liver produces more glucose and it increases the blood sugar. Increased cortisol levels can also stimulate the release of glucose from the liver. Sunburns can lead to dehydration, which also will concentrate blood sugar levels. Cue “the more you know” jingle.
So moral of the story: I wanted a tan, and I should achieve that after the redness and peeling is over, but I need to find more water resistant sunscreen for the future because it’s not worth the blood sugar level increase to look darker. I’ll bust out the Jergens healthy glow tanning lotion. For everyday wear I use the CeraVe moisturizing suncreen for my face, but it isn’t waterproof so it’d be useless then.
Either way, I had so much fun at the pool and hope to go many more times this year. Swimming is my favorite form of exercise and I will suffer the burns – for now.
Today I made a fun discovery! The panel on my recumbent bike has a little lip that holds my iPad perfectly. This means I can put my tablet on the bike, turn on an episode, and pedal away. I did this for the first time yesterday, and while it wasn’t constant motion, it was a good chunk of it. After that I was on a high! I went to go lay down and finish watching some tv, and I was like “you know, I ‘m laying on my back. Let me move the pillows so I can lay flat.” then I just started doing sit-ups. I did over 100 and would have kept going had my husband not come home. Kiddo even joined me for a while — it was cute! “Mom, am I exercising?”
I feel accomplished because I don’t think I’ve ever gone that hard in exercising since I was in marching band. I woke up today paying for it though! I was so sore! And I did manage about 20 minutes on the bike today due to running errands outside the house. I doubt I’ll even have time to glance at the bike tomorrow with all the outside activity I have to do, but I will get back on it Friday.
My cycle is imminent, like literally should have been here already, If it’s not here by Saturday, I will be taking kiddo to the pool. I’m excited for the first pool visit of the season! Swimming laps makes me so happy and it hurts my muscles but it’s such a good pain! AND I get sun which I desperately need right now. Some natural Vitamin D will do me good. Especially since it’s so hot right now! I’m pretty sure this was the kind of heat that they had Stanley digging holes in. Swimming, biking and sit-ups. There are a few workout apparatuses that I am eyeing on TikTok shop, of all places! I’ll see what happens but for now I’m happy with my half-ass regimen.
