Lifestyle Change Day 3

Accountability is a good thing!  But sometimes life gets in the way of actually making the time to fill ya'll in.  Both Tues and Weds were good days:  Tues was 13K steps, but today was only 9k.  Sometimes work is that way, rather than doing, I spent a great deal of my time today having "meaningful conversations" with employees while also doing some training.  Tomorrow is another day for more steps!

I track my food intake on two separate apps, mostly because of the different information I can get with each.  On SparkPeople, which I've used forever, I'm tracking potassium, sodium and Vitamin C.  I also use my Samsung Health app on the phone, and yes, I can get those same numbers - but only if I eat servings in half or full size, and I am sometimes more precise than that. For example, I quarter my potatoes, bake them, and only have 3 quarters in a meal.   The reason that I like the Samsung app for tracking is because it gives me a nutrient quotient as a goal.  The nutrients in foods based on a 100% scale and both Tuesday and Wednesday, I got 85% !!  I was thrilled with that.  What I'm eating is good wholesome foods, not processed stuff, and that's what I need.

I've cut way back on the Diet Coke.  Now, I look forward to my little "treat" at 2pm - which is when I really need a pick-me-up!  But I'm having a harder time kicking sugar's ass off my plate, so to speak.  When things get stressful at work, the first thing I want is chocolate.  Because it's soothing? or have I acclimated myself to that choice?   Probably both.  Yesterday was a walk from my boss's boss's boss's boss.  Yes, 4 levels of bosses making walking around in my area, discussing things that we should be doing.  And the whole time, I'm wishing I had a chocolate.  I didn't, and I survived!  So I'm counting that as a success! 



Since I'm at the age where I don't need to make excuses, just list reasons, the reason I didn't post yesterday as I was behind in a long overdue email to my BFF.  I discovered this because when I got a new phone in December, I didn't realize that I needed to actually set notifications to see phone calls and voice mails.  When I finally figured this out last weekend, I had a voice mail from her! 

Sometimes, I'm really that blonde -- because that sound better than saying I'm that old!! haha

Lifestyle Change Day 1

In my quest for a healthier me, it began today. 
Changes to diet and exercise, and increasing my water intake. 



Accountability report:  Water intake 88 oz.  Goal 100 oz.  Not bad for the first day

Food intake:  No candy, despite the chocolates on the desk in the pretty jar.  Eggs for breakfast, turkey wrap for lunch, broccoli, ground beef patty and baked potato for supper. I also added in a Naked Juice Power-C, to boost up my immune system - lots of colds going 'round.

Exercise:  Stretching for Seniors via YouTube, cute Australian accent on a young, handsome man.  Then some weight lifting for arms while watching the sun set.  11K steps recorded on my FitBit.

Caffeine:  One Diet Coke to break the lull at 2pm, one Diet Coke with dinner.  Didn't need the second one at dinner, water would have done it, except for the massive headache that was building all day.


I started on the Plexus Pink Drink today, as well.  I'm still not sure what it will do my digestive system.  I couldn't handle it full on when I tried it during the summer.  I'm hoping that starting slower will help a bit. 

I don't feel like I was deprived today.  Well, not much.  I sure would have enjoyed a nice sweet chocolate pick-me-up when things got stressful at work, but I powered through the craving.

I'm going to resist stepping on the scale in the morning, because this is more about healthy than it is weight loss.  Ok, I'll be honest, it's about weight loss too, but I don't think that should be the only goal.  Because I could lose weight by not eating, but that puts other systems in jeopardy, and this needs to be about being a healthier me!

So here's to having a successful tomorrow.

The Long and Short of Time

Ahhhh,  Finally Friday!!    It's been what seemed like a very long week, and I'm not quite sure why!  The work was the same, the problems ... errr opportunities ... were the usual, as well.    So what makes a week feel so long???


I started thinking about this, then decided maybe Google had an answer - but what I found was so long and convoluted, it hardly makes sense to ponder the thoughts!  But here's what I came up with.  When we're involved in learning something new, we don't seem to notice that time's zipping past us.  How many times have you been doing your favorite hobby and then look at the clock and realize that an hour has slipped by unnoticed?   And in the reverse, how many times do you look at the clock while you're doing the same tedious job you've been doing for months, if not years? 

I think that was my problem this week.  I found myself being a clock-watcher between 1 and 3pm.  But by forcing myself to find some busywork -- or work being forced on me -- my brain shifted gears, stopped watching the clock and boom! it was time to clock out!

I noticed a blog that mentioned ways to make your perception of time change:

1. Stop thinking of time as money (even if it is). 
2. Embrace novelty. 
3. Work smarter. 
4. Move. 
5. Disconnect. 
6. Plan trips. 
7. Go into nature.

So from this short but sweet list, if I make some mental notes here, I find that the hour I'm at lunch, when I dig myself into a story I'm reading, time passes swiftly.  The same with being out in nature.  Even if it's a simple walk around the block or two with Sadie, because I've changed my point of view, time passes rather nicely!  I know I can definitely do the "work smarter" when it comes to housework (which I tend to minimally during the work week!) 

I think the long and short of this whole message is to stop watching a clock, 

and get out there and do something different every single day! 

Day 4

It was S.H.I.T day == So Happy Its Thursday!  hehehehe  I survived another day, even though not enough got done.  Only 6 more days to go.  When I think of it like that, my head hurts!  But I plod along, doing as much as I can .....

There was a celebration of sorts and my BigBox store provided lunch to celebrate 4th quarter earnings - there were sub sandwiches, chips, soda and cake.  Nothing real fancy, but I was diligent and stuck with my salad.  I had packed an extra protein bar in case the urge to indulge hit me, but I survived!  Sometimes its those little battles that are harder to fight than bigger issues! 

I'm gonna give myself a big pat on the back, I was checking numbers and stats and found that yesterday's weigh in was the mark of 35 pounds lost in the past year.  Yay!  When I realized that I'd reached a number I hadn't seen in ... ohhhh.... a long while... I remembered some custom sized toe rings I got when I still lived in California.  I slid them on my toes, and Taaa Daaaa!  they fit!  Who knew toes got chubby too???  *laughs*

Can't wait for sandal season to get here, and I can show them off :)

Here is today's quote from SparkPeople (where I do all my tracking)

And I think its important for us to remember.  So many of us gripe and want changes, but are unwilling to do those things that will create change.  It truly doesn't take much, its the little things that grow into bigger things that create change.  When I started at the gym, it was only 3 days a week; I could only walk for 20 mins on the treadmill and I was thrilled to be able to do one mile.  Now, two miles is the norm, but on days when I have a little extra time, my goal is 60 mins, or 3 miles, whichever comes first.  And my pace has increased, nothing less than 3.8 mph.  It took a while to build up, but just a little bit added up to bigger things.  The same can happen in our lives in other ways.  Maybe your goal is to be happier at work (yeah, I know, some things don't seem possible!! hahah)  but happiness is an attitude as much as anything else.  Sometimes all you have to do is smile.  It catches on and people smile back.  Pretty soon, people are smiling instead of being grumpies -- its the little things.  Got a project  that will take a lot of time?  Break it down into bite sized pieces, and do a little bit.  Pretty soon-- you're halfway there! 

Change isn't easy, but it's worth it!

A New Month

The first day of a new month, and a beautiful sunset to start it off ....  does that make you feel as if it's a new beginning?  Or is that only at certain times of the year, like September when school starts? Or January, when a new year starts?  I'm proposing that we break things down into smaller chunks: Make the start of every new month like the start of a brand new beginning. 

We all say "the diet starts Monday".  Of course, we also know that's just a phrase that doesn't last very long.  If it lasted, we wouldn't say it every week, would we?   *laughs*

The beginning of a new month is like wiping the slate clean. Stop worrying about past mistakes (learn from them, sure) but move on to new and better things.  You can reflect on old goals, and measure their progress.  Or set new goals for this month. If you're like me, they revolve around a healthier lifestyle.  Maybe your new goals will be in some distance you walk or run, or to vow not to eat any fast food for a month.  Or to finally clean out that closet where stuff has begun to pile up.

I can attest to the fact that setting -- and accomplishing -- small goals can really boost your self esteem and your confidence. It doesn't take a lot to reach some goals... just a lot of little steps!

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, 

anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.  

~Attributed to Carl Bard

Sometimes the path you're on 

is not as important as 

the direction you're heading.  

~Kevin Smith

Turn the Page

I was doing some research, and came across this phrase.  

And I kind of like it.

Turn the page. 

Being an avid reader, I likened it to reading a book.  You have to turn the page to get to the next part, the next phase, the next story.  And the quotes I found related to that, as well.  There's a song "turn the page" by Bob Seger, mostly about life on the road as a singer, but I think he relates well to turning the page to the next day, week or month.

Sometimes there are situations that require us to .... Turn the Page.  Meaning we need to do something different in order to get past our current situation, to step into the next phase, and sometimes to just plain shake things up!

When was the last time you turned the page?  We do it on a daily basis in little ways that we may not even realize.  You may turn a page by taking a different route home from work, or giving an extra smile to the guy behind the checkout counter, or by extricating yourself from some kind of relationship that isn't working.  

Maybe its the time of year; a friend of mine says I always seem to make changes when spring rolls into summer.  But I'm feeling changes coming: whatever those changes are, some are by me, some are by chance.  

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, 

but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
~ Maria Robinson

 “Sometimes it's the smallest decisions 

that can change your life forever.”  

~Keri Russell

 

Turn the page.

Changes

This morning, the word 'change' is on my mind.  I woke up and things felt different today.  Usually my first thought on the weekends is to wonder what's going on with people I know from the internet; and so I log on and check email, messages, etc.  Lately, while I still pop on and check those things, I'm not as interested in hanging around, chatting with folks who drift on.  That's how I know things with me are changing.  Which made me look up a few quotes about "change"::

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

People are always telling me that change is good.  

But all that means is that something you didn't want to happen has happened. 

 ~Meg Ryan

 

There is only one way to happiness, 

and that is to cease worrying things 

which are beyond the power of our will. 

~Epictetus

“When you love someone, it's never over.... 

You move on, because you have to, but you bring him in your heart.”  

~Elizabeth Chandler

There are the basic changes in life; you grow up, move out on your own, or school ends and you get your first job.   A new job.  A career change.  Start a family.  Buy a house.  Move across town, or across the country.  Health issues.  Family issues.  Love begins.  Love ends.  Every day, there are all kinds of changes in our lives.  Some of them big ones. Some of them little ones.  Some of them we see coming, some we choose, and some are thrust upon us for reasons we can't figure out at all.  And yet, we're expected to move with the changes.  It's certainly easier to accept changes that we embrace, or want.  But its the other changes, the ones that happen without expecting them, that make it harder to keep moving on.

And yet, somehow we do just that. 

We survive changes, we adapt and adjust.

Sometimes it hurts. 

Sometimes we cry.

Sometimes we're happy with them.

As for me, and the changes I feel coming .... I know I will have good days, not so good days, and better days.  There will be moments where I wish the world would stop, and just as many moments where I wish it would just hurry along into the next phase.  Reminds me of a country song:  "If you're going through hell, keep on moving, if you're scared, don't show it..... You might get out, before the devil even knows you're there."   

When it comes to change, whether its one we choose, or one thrust upon us, don't give up, don't give in, push through to the other side.  It may turn out to be the best change, once you look back on it.