Tag: weather

The Wandering Hermit: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head

   7 July 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head

While I knew there was a chance of rain today, I didn’t expect it to rain all morning.  It hadn’t quite started when I first woke up at 5am, but I checked the radar and decided to just wait for it to pass.  By 10:30, I realized that wasn’t going to happen so I did some cardio on the front porch.  If it dries later, I’ll try to get in a bit of a walk.  The temperature is so perfect today; it’s a shame to waste it.

I’m apparently doing stationary cardio incorrectly.  I just can’t seem to get my heart rate up as much as walking, even when I feel like what I’m doing is much more difficult.  I have the same issue with aerobic exercises.  They will make me sweat a lot, but they don’t really move my heart rate as much as walking.  It is possible that I need to be slightly more concerned about why walking increases my heart rate so much, but either way I’d like them to be similar.  

The Wandering Hermit: Preparing for the Rest of Summer

   29 June 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Preparing for the Rest of Summer

It’s entirely too warm; the next month is going to be rough if I base things on this morning.  The watch told me it was 79ºF, which is already too warm for me, but the gravel was still radiating heat from yesterday and so it felt a little like standing in front of the dryer while pulling out clothes.  It’s not exactly unbearable, but it’s a lot of heat coming from unusual angles.

Speaking of clothes, sorta… I’m in the midst of a plateau at the moment.  They happen; in fact, they happen a lot.  But I break through them eventually so I’m not stressed about it.  I wanted to wait until I was down to 250 pounds before I got some new clothes, but it seems like I’m just inching my way down to that, so I broke down and got a few shirts, a couple pairs of shorts, and some leggings.  That should do for the summer; I am still hoping to get some stuff that fits better later this year.  Some people have been bothered by my threadbare shirts and ripped sweatpants.  Those things don’t bother me, but I am honestly annoyed by the fit of my clothes.  It is definitely past the point where I like how everything just hangs on me.  That was a nice reminder of progress, but it can be annoying, especially pants that never want to stay up.

Yesterday, I went from being mildly under the weather to fully feeling sick and then better by the time I went to bed.  I’m still feeling it, but my body seems to be handling the threat pretty well.  I’ll probably spend the day hydrating and not doing a whole lot.  I always have a lot to do, but I don’t want to push myself and then end up getting sick.  That’s far less convenient than taking things a little easier for a couple of days.

[Walk #105]

The Wandering Hermit: One Step Sideways

   26 June 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: One Step Sideways

It’s already been a bit of a chaotic day.  Maybe that means the rest will be better.  Although, that isn’t to say my day has necessarily been bad.  It’s just been frustrating so far.  We had some heavy rains last night, so this morning everything was just soaking wet.  I could have walked, but it was so muddy that I decided to let things dry a bit.  So, I didn’t walk until 10am, and only did 1 mile then.  It was already getting hot out there.  I did do a few minutes of running on the porch, but that wasn’t really going anywhere (pun not intended), so I did my old route in front of the house to the neighbor’s driveway three times.  It was a good walk, but it has made me feel off a bit.  It was at the wrong time, it was the wrong place.  It didn’t feel like a step backward; it felt like a step to the side.  I felt like I was in a place I shouldn’t be all of the sudden.  I wanted my routine back!  I’ll have to do a walk this afternoon to make up for the missing mile, and maybe it is good that I had a difficult morning.  I was wanting to test out a split walking schedule.  Of course, I was still wanting my morning walk to be the enjoyable experience I expect it to be, but apparently we can’t have everything we want in life.

My VO2 Max number is still teasing me and just hovering below where I want it to be.  It has improved a lot this year, so I am trying to remain patient about that.  Continuing to do what I’m doing is improving everything.  My issues didn’t occur overnight; I shouldn’t expect to clear things up overnight either.  It takes time to undo a lifetime of stupid decisions.

[Walk #101]

The Wandering Hermit: Warm Walks & Good Apps

   14 June 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Warm Walks & Good Apps

This morning was beautiful, but a little too warm for as early as it was when I set out.  It was a warning to keep the A/C running and stay inside today.  But it was an invigorating walk, and it ended with running into Justin who had decided on his own to go out and walk.  He was doing the area between the mailbox and Fairgrounds Rd, back and forth.  I’m not sure how long his walk was, but I was so proud to see him out there doing it without my prodding or involvement.  Good job, Justin! 

Why didn’t I do this sooner?  I’ve been craving a system to do my journaling and to keep track of everything in a centralized way.  For a long time, I used Notes to do everything.  It’s still full of writing and links and notes to myself.  But Notes has limitations and as I started adding things like a daily health log and a journaling habit, it became increasingly clear that I needed something that could handle that information a little better.  I worry about using third party apps and blogging websites.  They are often better, but they also have a habit of shutting down and leaving the users with no place to go.  It’s annoying to have to rebuild a following.  That’s why I started my own websites years ago, and I still think they are the best place for my thoughts, even when the readership is low.  But they aren’t the solution for my daily needs.  I’ve been using Day One for two weeks now, and so far it is nearly perfect for most of what I do.  There are some significant things it cannot handle, but I also understand why it has those limitations.  Primarily, formatting is extremely basic on Day One, lacking even the ability to center text.  For 99.9% of applications, I imagine that is fine.  For me, a writer who likes to play around with justifications and spaces, it is a hinderance.  But I still have my trusty TextEdit to use, and pairing the two is fine for now.  I don’t love that the work I already have will have to be formatted incorrectly or not added to the compiled journal, but it is what it is.  No app is perfect; this one is just better than the others I’ve tried.

[Walk #89]

The Wandering Hermit: Macro Evolution

   9 June 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Macro Evolution

What a dramatic change in temperatures!  Quelle surprise!  I guess not entirely; I did know we had a cold front coming through.  I just hadn’t anticipated how quickly things would cool off after yesterday’s heat.  I hope that means I can get a few things done today.

One thing I NEVER worry about is macros.  I don’t even look at them when I’m planning my meals, and I still think that it is unnecessary to focus on them too much when eating foods that are already pretty healthy, but I’m about to shift into looking at them a lot.  Justin, my housemate, has asked for some assistance in making him a meal plan to help him lose weight.  There are a few hurdles when it comes to Justin that I’ll need to address.  The easiest thing would be to just have him do the plan I’ve been doing….obviously it is working.  But I eat a lot of leafy green vegetables and while Justin claims he enjoys vegetables as well, he means that in a two or three times a week sort of way.  He also has a love of, and fear of losing, a few foods I would consider junk foods.  And while I’m not going to eat those things anymore, I would like to work them into a plan for him because I don’t want him to be doing something that feels like he will eventually stop.  I want to design a plan that incorporates what he loves, but paying attention to the calories.  Because of his specific needs, I think I will be recording macros for his meal plans, which will make me aware of them in general, so I might just record them for a while just out of curiosity.  For Justin, I think it will be important to make sure he feels satiated throughout the day.  I don’t worry much about that for myself.  My foods are both low in calorie density and high in nutrients, so if I feel hungry I know I can just eat more.  But with foods higher in fat, the limits need to be the limits.  It isn’t that he couldn’t do what I do to fill the belly; it is that he wouldn’t.  He’d have more fries, another sleeve of crackers, a little vegan ice cream.  Those calories add up quickly.  I think if I focus on making sure he’s getting adequate protein in his day, he should feel full without having to drastically change what he eats.  OR, he could just drastically change what he eats and get over it!  I’ll get it together by tomorrow.

I had wardrobe issues yesterday, and I had them again this morning.  The sweatpants I was wearing while walking did not want to cooperate with me, or else they are some sort of practical joke enthusiast waiting for a good moment to drop in front of a passing car.  Nobody was out early on a Sunday, so they never had their moment, and I kept fiddling around with the ties trying to cinch them up enough to stay up, but I’d get another hundred feet or so and feel them slouching and slipping slowly down again.  I had planned on 250 lb. being when I was allowed to buy some new clothes, but I might have to get some pants before then, or quickly get comfortable with the neighbors knowing what kind of underwear I wear.

[Walk #84]

The Wandering Hermit: A Friendly Man

   4 June 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: A Friendly Man

A nice man stopped to ask how many miles I walk each morning.  I see his truck pass often, but I thought it was nice to have someone stop to say hi.  I hope he has a nice day.  I thought about telling him how I’d lost so much weight and how my health journey was partly sparked by turning 44 and realizing that Grandpa Fuchs died at 45, and Dad started having heart attacks regularly in his 40s.  I don’t know if I will have staved off those things, but it did start to narrow my perspective and remind me that I probably won’t live forever, despite my insistence to do so.  So, no, I just chose mild self-deprecation instead, downplaying my 2 miles as trivial before he moved on.

Justin joined me on my walk again this morning, but he only got in one mile.  He didn’t sleep again last night, a problem he’s been having.  It’s hard to be productive with such a small amount of sleep.

The world is muddy today.  I wasn’t entirely sure how much it had rained last night, but more than I anticipated.  It made my paths awkward and short, so I had to just do the small bit in front of the house.  And really that was fine.  It had been a few days since I did that one.

[Walk #79]

The Wandering Hermit: Almost To Richmond Rd & Back

   22 May 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Almost To Richmond Rd & Back

It’s a rainy morning, but I got in 3 miles before the heavy rain started.  Most of my walk was little more than a sprinkle or two here and there.  There was a bit where it rained a little, but that wasn’t a problem.

This morning, I went south on Fairgrounds.  My goal was to go to Richmond Rd and back, but that’s a mile and a half, so I decided to head back.  I was aware that storms were possible from 7am to 10am, so I didn’t really want to be caught in them.  Once I got back to the house though, I could see the storm clouds coming, but also had enough time that I walked until I had to come in.  I would have been fine if I had just gone all the way to Richmond Rd.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

[Walk #62]

The Wandering Hermit: To Prairie Rd & Back

   21 May 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: To Prairie Rd & Back

I had a great walk this morning.  I walked down to Prairie Rd & back.  At one point I thought I might get in 3 miles, and I might have done that if I had gone a full mile and a half in one direction, but since I was back near the house, I didn’t quite have that in me… more laziness than anything I guess.  I love that I’m thinking of it as laziness since it was so recently that I could barely do 100 feet without seeing stars.

I was worried that the rain we got Sunday night would have lingered, but everything had dried out.  We are supposed to get more rain later this week.

In the evening, I walked again.  I was a little worried I had eaten too much, so I wanted to address that as well as try to get my 300% move badge for the first time.  When I added up my food, I hadn’t needed to worry about overeating.  I did get that badge though! 

[Walk #60]

The Wandering Hermit: I Need This Day To Start Over

   16 May 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: I Need This Day To Start Over

Pouring rain this morning, so I waited until later to walk.  It was still a little too muddy, but it might rain on and off throughout the rest of today, so it is probably the best I was going to get.  After 20 minutes, which is my minimum, I was annoyed by the mud and stopped for the day.  If I do any additional exercise today, I’ll either stay on the porch or inside.  I’m feeling slightly less chipper than I have been feeling this week.  

I’m still low on food and have yet to do much about it, so this morning I made a pot of rice & kale.  I portioned that out into 200 calorie servings and had one with broccoli for breakfast.  It was pretty good, but I’d still like a broccoli break!  I guess I’ll just plan on going to get food tomorrow.  I need to just sit down and make the list.  I don’t usually struggle this much with it, but I also rely on broccoli so much that not I feel lost (even though I can just get green beans… and I know that).  

I got quite a bit of sleep last night.  Hopefully I can get plenty tonight as well.  I don’t like alternating sleepless nights.

My weight was up a lot this morning.  It’s not Monday, so the weight isn’t official, but it did surprise me how much weight can fluctuate.  Hopefully things are back in line by tomorrow morning.

[Walk #55]