Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

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Madrigal
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Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Madrigal » Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:20 pm

Have any of your new habits stuck?

One change I added so as to add some variety to confinement was taking classes, and I will continue to do so on a permanent basis. It's nice to do something besides work all day.

I also just started jogging, we'll see how long that lasts. I don't see myself going back to the gym this year, and it's been really nice re-discovering running. I forgot the Forrest Gump days of my youth.

I used to like going to restaurants a lot but now I'm happy to cook. In fact, I'm a little wary of restaurants in general, covid notwithstanding.

There's one thing I'll change due to a negative experience - my work/life balance. I overworked myself last year (with a regular wee-hour overtime shift, basically). I think that happened to a lot of people in 2020. I won't be doing that again.

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starla
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by starla » Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:01 am

I am a much better cook, to the point where going out for dinner is just an exercise in disappointment.

Overall, this pandemic has been pretty fantastic. My WLB has never been better.

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Madrigal
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Madrigal » Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:34 am

starla wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:01 am
I am a much better cook, to the point where going out for dinner is just an exercise in disappointment.
I've been watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (some of the stuff on that show has not aged well, heh), and now I think I'm a lot less keen to go back to restaurants.

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DJ Drug Problem
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by DJ Drug Problem » Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:31 pm

Every time I drink alcohol I get a sinus and ear infection thanks to postviral inflammation, so I don't drink. Weed also causes enough inflammation to trigger it so that's out. The good news is I still managed to get fat through lack of exercise. The other good news is I'm covid resistant now after multiple reinfections! I get over it in half the time. It's like a sport at this point, practice makes perfect. Eventually I won't get it at all, then the one month postviral inflammation timer will finally run out without a re-up and I can go back to being awful.

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Senseye
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Senseye » Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:13 pm

I started going for pseudo-daily walks (only about 5km or so, 4-5 times a week) pretty much out of sheer boredom along with a basic need to get up and moving a bit as a form of exercise.

Hopefully I can stick with these walks post pandemic.

Other than that, nada. I was not one to eat out overmuch, but I sure miss the amount I used to do and am very eager to get back to it. I am not a fan of delivery food. If I'm not getting the eating out experience I'll just save the money and eat quick and easy at home (frozen food, sandwiches, pasta, etc).

roki
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by roki » Sun Feb 21, 2021 4:57 pm

5,000 iU of vitamin D daily since Christmas got my bloodwork to show my D level at 27 as of a week or two ago. I've been sober from alcohol since Christmas. I am -20 pounds. I'm single. My sex life is poppin'. 2021 is going well for me. I am going to continue to take control of my health.

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Spartan26
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Spartan26 » Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:10 pm

Madrigal wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:20 pm
I also just started jogging, we'll see how long that lasts. I don't see myself going back to the gym this year, and it's been really nice re-discovering running. I forgot the Forrest Gump days of my youth.
I hate running but since gyms have shut down it's all I've got. Well, not entirely true. I'll exercise the park across the street from me. It has bars for doing pullups and dips and other assorted things. I really just do pullups, though I tell myself I need to use some other stations to work on other muscles. I wish I had free weights here. Earlier in the pandemic I was able to go in the middle of the day. I wish I could get as much sunlight now. Whenever I worked at a studio, I'd spend half my lunch walking around. I felt like I needed "air" more so than sun. It's actually been too chilly to eat outside for a number of weeks but I think I'll do that more as things warm up.

I think I've been eating less sugar. I'm not sure it's really a cognitive choice. I've become more spartan in my shopping. I'll have a list of 4-5 things I want to get at Costco or grocery store but since Covid I've really stuck to it. Just get in, get out, hope I don't contract anything on the way out. I think lack of going to the gym prevents me from snacking on junk.

I wish I could not work and get more sleep. Being de-stressed for 4-5 months was healthy for me but I can't really say I'm doing anything different or healthier now.

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Light Leak
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Light Leak » Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:49 am

My work-life balance is better. I have been working from home. I no longer have to commute to work or even get ready for work so I have more free time because of that. I guess it could be argued that maybe the getting ready for work thing isn't so positive, because I don't really dress up anymore or put on makeup or anything. I just wear what's comfortable. My skin is probably better without the makeup.

I actually eat dinner at a normal time now that I don't get home from work so late so that's been great for my digestion.

We got a dog. I always felt like I wasn't home enough to have a dog before, but now I'm home all the time. Whenever things go back to normal my boss is just going to have to deal with me going home earlier because I'm not leaving my dog alone in the house for the amount of time that I used to be gone during the day when I worked in the office. That would mean leaving her home alone for 10hrs. a day, sometimes longer. I'm hoping I'll be able to work from home most of the time once things return to normal. I've been able to do my job just fine from home for the past year.

I'd like to credit the dog for getting me out of the house to walk, but I already walked twice a day before we got her. I guess she does give me extra motivation to walk on days when the weather is bad and I'm looking for an excuse not to walk.

It seems like a lot of people are eating healthier during the pandemic. I seem to have slipped the opposite direction. My diet still isn't terrible, but things I was avoiding before covid, like crackers and pasta, have slowly made there way back into my diet. I've gained enough weight where my work pants have become uncomfortably tight. It doesn't really matter because I'm not dressing up for work anyways, but I'm still not that happy about the extra weight. I like the crackers and pasta though and my old diet was so strict and boring. We also used to eat out very infrequently before covid and now we're getting takeout about once every two weeks. I'm enjoying that too. I'm not sure if I want to go back to my old diet.

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Madrigal
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Madrigal » Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:11 pm

DJ Drug Problem wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:31 pm
The other good news is I'm covid resistant now after multiple reinfections! I get over it in half the time. It's like a sport at this point, practice makes perfect. Eventually I won't get it at all, then the one month postviral inflammation timer will finally run out without a re-up and I can go back to being awful.
How have you managed to get reinfected multiple times? Is it your job? Or are you just going around breathing into people's mouths. :shock:
Senseye wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:13 pm
I started going for pseudo-daily walks (only about 5km or so, 4-5 times a week) pretty much out of sheer boredom along with a basic need to get up and moving a bit as a form of exercise.

Hopefully I can stick with these walks post pandemic.
I'm thinking of making a thread for pics of the neighborhood that we take on our walks/runs, I assume a lot of people are walking or running more what with the gyms being closed or considered dangerous. There are a lot of things I'd like to take pics of but never went out with a camera yet.
roki wrote:
Sun Feb 21, 2021 4:57 pm
5,000 iU of vitamin D daily since Christmas got my bloodwork to show my D level at 27 as of a week or two ago. I've been sober from alcohol since Christmas. I am -20 pounds. I'm single. My sex life is poppin'. 2021 is going well for me. I am going to continue to take control of my health.
How'd you lose the weight? Asking for a friend. :D

I have half-assed a number of things but my weight won't budge, and I put on 4 kilos on top of the 4 extra kilos I always weigh throughout the year.
Spartan26 wrote:
Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:10 pm
I hate running but since gyms have shut down it's all I've got. Well, not entirely true. I'll exercise the park across the street from me. It has bars for doing pullups and dips and other assorted things. I really just do pullups, though I tell myself I need to use some other stations to work on other muscles. I wish I had free weights here.
I've got a park across the street now too! It's great because I used to have to walk 20 minutes to get to it. Now that we moved, I have a long park area to jog in. It also intersects with the square where the protestors go here in Santiago de Chile. That's perfect for me too, ha. Though I confess I've only been watching from my window lately, the protests overlap with my classes now.
Light Leak wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:49 am
Whenever things go back to normal my boss is just going to have to deal with me going home earlier because I'm not leaving my dog alone in the house for the amount of time that I used to be gone during the day when I worked in the office. That would mean leaving her home alone for 10hrs. a day, sometimes longer. I'm hoping I'll be able to work from home most of the time once things return to normal. I've been able to do my job just fine from home for the past year.
You could also get another dog to keep her company. Eh, I think that works well for cats, I'm not sure if the same goes for dogs, or if you'll just have two anxious dogs at home instead of one.

But yeah, hopefully your boss just lets you continue to work from home. I'm not sure why so many of them have been despertae to get their employees back in the office when they're only spending more money that way.
Light Leak wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:49 am
It seems like a lot of people are eating healthier during the pandemic. I seem to have slipped the opposite direction. My diet still isn't terrible, but things I was avoiding before covid, like crackers and pasta, have slowly made there way back into my diet. I've gained enough weight where my work pants have become uncomfortably tight. It doesn't really matter because I'm not dressing up for work anyways, but I'm still not that happy about the extra weight. I like the crackers and pasta though and my old diet was so strict and boring. We also used to eat out very infrequently before covid and now we're getting takeout about once every two weeks. I'm enjoying that too. I'm not sure if I want to go back to my old diet.
Is it possible to be eating healthier but still be putting on weight? :/

I have the same issue with the weight gain. I used to do a summer weight-loss program with a lot of gym involved, but that didn't happen this year.

Also, pasta is health food, right...

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Senseye
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Re: Positive lifestyle changes post-COVID

Post by Senseye » Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:15 pm

Madrigal wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:11 pm
I have half-assed a number of things but my weight won't budge, and I put on 4 kilos on top of the 4 extra kilos I always weigh throughout the year.
Welcome to middle age. I'm basically in the same boat, I weigh about 8 lbs more than I think I should, but it's been that way for 8+ years. Seems my body doesn't believe my set point is 8 lbs less that it is anymore. But I start to panic if I get 5+ lbs from where I am (which happens) as I don't want my new set point to be even higher.
You could also get another dog to keep her company. Eh, I think that works well for cats, I'm not sure if the same goes for dogs, or if you'll just have two anxious dogs at home instead of one.
I used to have two dogs and I think it does work as far as anxiety goes. Doesn't help with the fact dogs need to get out for bathroom duties though. So LL still wouldn't be able to push it much past 10 hours (unless her dog stays outside during her absence). I could never do that. My dogs seemed to be aware when I was not home and they would bark like psychos if I left them outside when I was gone. I think they feel they need to be on high alert to guard the turf when alpha is away. Inside, they seemed to be able to chill and just sleep the day away.

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