December 2020 Week 1

                           

                        

Week 1 for December was OK not great but not terrible either.   Monday and Wednesday I made it to the gym doing a mile on the track Monday and a mile on the treadmill Wednesday.  Both times I worked pretty hard on arms since these are the least self conscious for me.  

Friday I ended up not going I hadn't really slept the night before and was really tired and I ate not so great we had a retirement lunch for Carol H. and I had lobster bisque and shaved Brussels sprout salad.   I did try to choose healthy and I have to say that salad was amazing I'm still dreaming about it.  Dave ended up walking with me a bit Friday night so I still got some steps in even if it was freezing outside.  The Christmas lights on all the houses were on it was beautiful.

We also decorated the tree and ordered pizza I only at a little bit so much less than in the past.

With all that said and done I weighed in at 180 today.  So that was nice.  Really close to under 180 I cannot believe it.   Getting down 2 lbs in a week that my eating wasn't stellar is always good.

I'm looking forward to next week we have nothing really in the works and I have an entire meal plan for the week.

 

November 2020 Recap

                           

November was pretty good I worked on the NOOM stuff and my moving.  I average about 9000 steps a day at this point and I ended the month down to 182 getting really close to the 170's.  In the beginning weeks I started getting rid of clothes that were just way to big for me and getting new walking shoes and a yoga mat for home.  We started having colder days towards the end so I joined the park district Club across from my work so when I am unable to be outside I can walk on the indoor track or a treadmill.  The food we all it is way more healthy and I've been sleeping most nights really really well which is amazing to me.  Dave has started to cut soda out of his diet.  If anyone knows him they would know he only drank Pepsi pretty much exclusively maybe some water or milk once in a great while and beer when we were out but Pepsi all day everyday.  He also walks with me whenever he can, he rarely misses.  I'm still walking at lunch as long as the weather allows.  

We did go to Indiana for a weekend to be with my Mom and Sara once the headstone was put in.  It's funny Sara is also on a wellness journey of her own.  That weekend was a total bust on the food front but I'm learning not beat myself up for it and let it go and just do better the next day.  

Thanksgiving was odd I cooked the entire meal and Dave delivered to his family.  Once he got home we ate our meal.  Emily had to work so she at later after she got home from Papa John's.  I didn't really over eat like normal and the days following the same.  I didn't really lose but I certainly didn't gain.  

I'm thinking in December I will start weekly progress reports to highlight my trips to the gym and such.  I'll be back in a bit!

October 2020 Recap

                        

Well October came and I continued my walking getting to 10,000 steps quite a few times a week.  I started working a new job full time and I would walk around the block at lunch every weekday that the weather permitted.  In the evening and weekends I started walking and Dave came along with me.  I've added new habits and tried to add healthier food to mine and my families diets.  I'm starting to rediscover things I love like music, reading and writing.  The last couple of months I've done virtual crops with Dianne and we were pretty productive.  I've started cleaning out and donating things around the house we no longer need.  I think all of the physical activity has really helped motivate me in other areas of my life.  I have way more energy than I have in years.  

It's amazing to me one year ago I was sick at this time I could barely move and getting 1000 steps a day was a major accomplishment.  I only did what I could do in a day which sometimes was just going to work and coming home.  Now I'm walking all over as often as possible and am excited to  try walking in different and new places.

On the 16th I decided to join NOOM and get help with my diet for real.  By the end of the month was down to 186.  Not great but not too bad.  I definitely eat healthier getting in way more fruits and veggies.  I would rather lose it slowly and keep it off forever.  I don't remember the last time I was under 190 so this is all good. 

I also had to let go with the kids a bit.  Emily went to Texas with her new boyfriend and Abbi has decided to do school from home but she still goes a few times a week for Theater stuff.  The pandemic being what it is and so long I will have to let them go places.  

I will be back in November for another monthly recap.

September Recap

                         

September has arrived and I'm starting to feel more like myself than I have in a long time.  I start paying close attention to how much I actually move and begin walking.  Trying to increase my steps by a few hundred each week to get to 10,000(ultimate goal).  I started at around 5000 steps average a day by the end of the month I had an average of 7000 steps a day.  I've continued with my vitamins adding a vitamin B supplement and getting new vitamin D.  I have tried to cut back a little on the comfort food cooking and focus on at least one salad meal a week and eating at home even for lunches.

I've also decided to go back to work full time so I started interviewing for full time open positions at my current job.  

I also started in August and September creating new habits.   First it started with getting in the habit of taking my vitamins and taking care of my skin every night then I added water and walking to the habit train.  So far this month I feel good about my new habits forming and I'm starting to get excited about adding more items to the list. 

I'll be back with an October recap.

Spring/Summer Recap

 

March April May June Recap

I started out on this journey just added bits and pieces and then the Pandemic hit.  My day to day life didn't change much as an essential worker I went to work everyday and continued to do my best not eating out so much(ie. Takeout) but with my entire family working or schooling from home it was difficult.  At this point I weighed about 195 and tried not to get to worked up about the little things we have no control over.

At the end of May we lost my Brother.  He was my only sibling and it has been very hard for my family, especially my mother.  I spent a little over a week in Nashville and then we had the funeral in Indiana in Mid June after everything was settled.  At this point July and August I had no idea what was going on everything was just a blur of work, family, pandemic, etc.  I did continue with my home cooked meals (not always healthy I was really into comfort food and grilled food).

In August around my Birthday I felt a sense of needing to do something more with my life.  I'd reached 53 and really have done nothing to improve myself since leaving my toxic job 2 years ago.  I mean I survived and got back to where I was before but beyond that nothing.  

In my next journal entry I will share my next steps as I move forward.

The Plan

Wellness begins today!

What is the plan?  Well I intend to attack this from various angles not just physical but mental as well.  First we will take time to breath and rejuvenate each day.

I'll add in diet which will be generally more healthy.  In the last month we have stopped eating out as much now we are down to a couple of times a month and I don't stop for coffee and breakfast/lunch during the day either.  That has helped a little.  I have been meal planning heavily since Fall and I've gotten better at it as it's gone along.  Some of our heavier meals I will replace with healthier options as well as changing my breakfast and lunches to ones that are cleaner.  Most food is now homemade but I want to get even more items in our household homemade such as breads and pastas as well as a canning some of the things we use a lot, like tomatoes and beans etc.

I am trying to add in supplements as well. Vitamins of course and additional supplements like vitamin D(it's grey her in the winter we go weeks without sun) iron and magnesium etc.

Water, of course.  I drink mostly water now except for a cup of coffee in the AM.  I have a soda 1-2 times a week.  I don't really drink except on social occasions once in awhile.  Summer brings Iced Tea and in the cold weather months I drink a few of cups a tea a week. So for me it's really just about drinking more water making sure to get the total amount needed.

Exercise is a tough one for me I used to love it but when my energy levels waned I really wasn't into it.  So I am going to start walking more adding a little bit each week as we go along.  I would like to try Yoga or another stretching program but that needs more work.

Mediation  I need quiet it is a big deal for me when I don't have it I am not pleasant.  So this will be added daily instead of the couple of times a week now.

Rejuvenating isn't just about eating, supplementing, exercising etc.  It's also about how you fill your time what you take in what you put out.  I am a creative at heart so doing something creative everyday will also play a big part even if I have to schedule it into my day.  Even if it's only 15min.

This is my plan for now.  It is what I think will work for me for now.  It may change as we go along we will see.

I will be back for my first journal entry!  Have a great day!

Welcome to my Wellness Journey...

 

Today I begin a new wellness journey.  I've been to lax in taking care of myself the last decade so to start this new decade we begin with a new health and wellness regime.

What brought this on? Everything I'm tired of being tired and not feeling 100% every day.  Maybe it's the winter blues here and not seeing everything in color.  I just know it's time, now that I'm 50+, to get it together and do all the things and achieve all the goals.

I've been researching healthy eating and exercise plans to death.  As well as various self care routines and such.  Seriously if researching counted I would be happy, fit, healthy and running rings around everyone.   So now it is time to BEGIN.

This will be a record of my journey, successes and failures.   It will be like a daily/weekly Journal of what works what doesn't for me.  As well as how it makes me feel. 

Wish me luck!