My First Day and a downloadable plan

I am not waiting for the month of August to officially begin for my challenge.  I am making this a true 10 week challenge and starting today!

 

The link for the plan  can be found here and join me on this adventure!

It is only 5:30 AM and I have already knocked out my 20 minutes of cardio.   Monday mornings are so difficult for me to workout early.  I just want to curl up on the couch and send out silent laments about how the weekend is over!  Today's early morning workout  was extra difficult due to my extremely busy day yesterday.  I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday.  I baked homemade pretzel rolls, cheese crackers and  blueberry cinnamon swirl muffins.  I pulled out my canner and all my canning supplies and made a batch of orange jelly, a batch of corncob jelly (sounded interesting) and a few batches of zucchini relish.   We also ran a few errands and took the dog to Tractor Supply for a bath (which takes over an hour).  And of course I made dinner.   I was wiped out and my body felt it this morning with a sore lower back.    So while I was exercising, I wanted to stop and just say 'not today'.   But I pushed through to complete my 20 minutes!

I have pre-planned my foods for today. I have it all entered into myfitnesspal.  So food should be easy.  I just have to  eat what  planned!  

I have my first 32 ounces of water beside me already and  I am ready to kick the water consumption into high gear!

But first, I am going to chill on the couch with the dog and hang out with Jason until he heads out to work.

10 Week Fitness and Health Challenge

It is time to challenge myself!  And I am going to challenge you too!  This is a 10 week challenge that will be easy to follow and will open the doors to amazing success and progress in our health and fitness journeys!   So join me and lets do this!

 

 Back in 2021 I embarked upon a 12 week plan.  It was a simple plan that I did right about the same time of the year.   I was 12 weeks away from eloping with Jason (one of the best kept secrets I have ever had) and  I wanted to be in good shape for our vacation (which was when we actually tied the knot.....you can read about that experience here) .   I started a 12 week plan that focused on 5-10 minutes of strength training, a burst of cardio, eating within my plan and drinking my water.  (You can read about my 12 week challenge and plan here.)  I followed it and I had some success with it.  (I lost 12 pounds).   

It was super easy to follow!  The strength training portion I was able to do on my 15 minute break from work!   Yes, it was that quick! (notice I didn't see the workout was easy.....push ups are hard for me and surprisingly the wall sits would have my legs shake).   It seemed perfect for me at the time.  Not a huge time commitment but a promise for some positive progress.   

So here I am 3 years (almost to the day) later and I have gained some weight.  And I am not happy with the weight gain.  Not happy at all!  I know that I need to so something to get this weight off!  I need a challenge!  I thought about quite a few things.  Should I do the 75 hard?   Should I do zumba?  Running?  A healthy wage challenge?  What?  I was ready to pull the trigger on a 75 hard and was actually looking at times and time frame and realized that I didn't have 75 days until vacation.  (For some reason I like the idea of a challenge before vacation).  Once I brought the concept of vacation into the mix I realized that i have 10 weeks until vacation!   So a 10 week challenge was born in my mind.    I also knew that I would need a posse of peeps with me as accountability partners!  So while I am calling this my 10 week challenge, I am also referring to it as the August through September Challenge! (that way there is a day or two to gather some peeps to join me!)   So whatever it is to you, 10 weeks or two months.....join me!  Help me.  Help yourself.  And lets see what results we can get!

So what does this challenge entail?  Not a whole lot!   

1.  Follow a healthy plan for eating (if that is WW, calorie counting, intuitive eating or whatever you do.....just follow it).   For me, that is currently counting calories and keeping my calories in my desired range with one 'vacation' day each week.  You may call it a cheat day, but I think cheat is a negative word...so I have vacation days!   It doesn't matter what plan you follow, just follow it!  

2  Drink water!  64 ounces a day!  

3.   Complete 20 minutes of cardio 5 times a week.  Once again, it doesn't matter what you do.  If you like zumba, go for it!  Are you a runner?   Then get out there and run.  Bikes?   Yes that works too!  I will probably do a combination of things, zumba step aerobics and maybe, just maybe a bit of running. (I seriously do miss running).     20 minutes is the minimum.  If you have the time and the energy and the gumption feel free to do 30 minutes..or 40..or 60.   Whatever your heart desires.   Just get the bare  minimum of 20 minutes!

4.  Strength training.   I have a plan worked up.  This is the plan that you can do in 5-10 minutes each day.  Simple and easy to follow!   5 times a week!  

The plan is set up with two rest days.   So you will only do the strength stuff 5 days a week.   If you want to do your cardio the same 5 days that is fine, but I do highly recommend giving your body a rest here and there!

I will be posting on my youtube channel also about this challenge.  I will also be posting daily on my facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/BelievinginMaryFran/   I would like to invite you go join me there so that we can encourage each other.  (Even if you don't join me on this challenge, feel free to join so that I can encourage you and you can help inspire me!)

Nothing left to it but to do it!  Lets see what we can accomplish in 10 weeks.  I would LOVE to see 20 pounds gone.....2 pounds a week.  But any loss during this time will be a victory!  Even better though, 12 weeks of cardio and these strength exercises and I will be STRONGER!   That will be a great win!  So lets do it!!!!

 

 

So much to say

 I have so much to say!   I have had so little time to actually say (write) it!  It seems as if life just keeps going faster and faster and crazier and crazier.    I set out to make July ‘my’ month in terms of health and fitness.   I had a doctor’s appointment with the gastro doctor..  We had a sale at mom’s house.  Zoey continues to grow and entertain.  So much to talk about, and yet I’ve failed to write.  So here we go, a big catch up!

Mom’s House

We prepped the house and stuff that is left for a sale.  A ‘bakers’ sale if you must.  We planned to have the sale inside and just open the doors for anyone to come on in and purchase.  So on the 20th, we pulled it off.  We didn’t do too bad.  We sold a fair amount…there is still a fair amount of stuff left.  It’s like the house has this magic act that for every item you take out of it, two more will appear!  Ok, it seemed like that at first, the more we cleared out, the more there was.  It’s not that bad anymore, but there is still a fair amount of stuff left.   Small stuff.  Lots of baking pans and utensils.  That kind of thing.  We are getting there.  Slowly but surely.

July, my Restart

Yes, July was supposed to be my month of great new beginnings.  And honestly, I totally nailed the first two weeks in terms of exercise, and step count and water consumption!  Totally nailed it!  But my food was not exactly spot on. It wasn’t horrible, but not perfect.  Add into that my monthly cycle hit (first time in like 4-5 months)  and I  didn’t lose any weight.  And I got totally disgusted.  And at that point it all went to hell in a hand basket.  Exercise?  What’s that?   I didn’t stop totally, but it’s been a struggle to get 1-2 workouts a week.  Water?  I am getting about 32 ounces of water a day.  Not enough at all!   And food!  Well I it was a struggle and honestly, for the last week (I just checked, exactly a week) I haven’t tracked a single solitary thing I have eaten!)  I haven’t gone off the rails with my food,  it hasn’t been totally horrible.  I’m still trying to make wise decisions but I know it hasn’t been ‘good’.

I’m a fraud

Meanwhile, I have been struggling with feeling like a fraud.  I have been posting on here about weight loss for 18.5 YEARS.  Sure I have had some success.  But lately it’s just been failure.  I am the highest weight I have been since before I lost all the weight back in 2007/2008.  I feel horrible.  I ache.  I am miserable.  I am disgusted with myself.  And I continue to post on here and on my YouTube channel.  Sure I’m being honest and talking about my struggles…but I feel like a fraud.   I know, I’m not….I'm authentically honest, talking about my struggles with weight.  But still…..

Doctors Appointment

I had a follow up appointment with my gastroenterologist last week.  This was to get the results of the biopsies from my endoscopy and to also plan how to move forward with this acid reflux dealio that I have been working on since my visit to the ER almost a year ago.   The doctor told me that everything looked great with my endoscopy.  The biopsies were all normal.  The only thing they found was the hiatal hernia that he had mentioned the day of the endoscopy.    We talked about how the medication has not helped me. And he said, that the medicine would help reduce ACID, but the hiatal hernia would continue to cause a ‘back up’ into my esophagus.  It’s just a fact of life with a hiatal hernia.  So with his permission I am not taking any meds. He said the odds of damage is slim to none.  It also helps that my symptom is simply a cough or throat clear once or twice after I eat.  (I have no heartburn, stomach issues, acid taste in my mouth, etc). We agreed that for me an  endoscopy will be something that I have to do every few years, along with my colonoscopy.  Preventative, just to check for damage and take steps to stop damage from getting worse should there be any.  I’m good with that.  So moving forward the focus is on getting the weight off of my body.  In his words all the stomach fat is pressing and squeezing that hernia and compounding the issue.  He said that it is quite likely that my problems would disappear almost entirely should I lose weight.   So there you have it.  

Moving forward

So what is the plan moving forward.   I’m not exactly sure.  I’ve been disgusted enough that I’ve actually for the first time started to contemplate taking a medication. But am still somewhat  resistant to that.

 I know that I need to get myself back to tracking my food!  I also need to focus on getting in that exercise and drinking my water.   The big thing for me is that I know that I have an unhealthy relationship with food.  It’s very unhealthy.    But how does one create a healthy relationship ship?  That is the question of the hour I guess!  (Suggestions welcome!!)    

I have started to question my choices though.  Each time I eat I know what I WANT, but I am questioning myself,  ‘what would a person that doesn’t have an issue with food choose’.  And then I copy what I think a person with a healthy relationship would eat.   So for lunch today I did have a handful of potato chips.  Normally I would either ignore them because they are the devil (if I was feeling strong enough to resist) or I would eat potato chips with wild abandon. (For those days where I lose control!)  today I eat about 5 chips…that sounded ‘normal and healthy’ to me!   I also did that with some homemade bread.  I wanted to eat the rest of the loaf…but I asked myself, is that something a ‘non food addict’ person would do?  And so I didn’t eat the rest of it.  I just ate two slices.    Is this healthy? Maybe not but it is making me really think about my choices!

It’s a small thing, but that is where I am starting.  Hopefully it will help me retrain my mind to a mindset that is less addict fueled and more ‘normal’  (whatever normal really is)

So that is where I am at.   Crazy times.   July wasn’t what I had thought it was going to be…but I can end strong 

 

July!

 July started out with a bang!  And I don't mean fireworks!  I mean with my determination to be healthy!  Yes, I started the month with a spark of determination within me!

I set up my journal again this month much like I have the last few months, creating it by hand.  I have made adjustments each month to take away things that I didn't do and found unnecessary.  I added things that I realized I needed.  I adjusted and reworked things that I didn't like how they worked.  I am feeling really good with my journal!  I may start working on a version that I can print up so that I don't have to get out the good old ruler each month to create my own boxes, lines and gizmos!  I'm excited about possibly getting the perfect planner for me!   Seriously, I've been looking for YEARS for a planner that would have exactly what I needed it to have, or at least something close!  So I am excited to create my own. 

The month of July rolled around and I sat back and started to think about where I am.  And honestly, I wasn't happy with where I am in terms of my health.   So I decided that July was going to be my month to change my behaviors.  

What is changing?   Well nothing really.  But on the other hand, everything!   Last month in my journal I had 4 habits that I was to work on.   The four habits were very simple.  One, I had to keep my calories under 1500 for 6 days a week.   Second, I wanted to work on my water consumption.  I wanted to have 64 ounces of water bare minimum each day.    The third and the fourth kinda went hand in hand.  I wanted my step count to be over 5,000 steps per day and I wanted to exercise at least 3 times a week.   I quickly noticed that if I didn't exercise, the steps were much more difficult to get!     Simple and easy right?    I failed miserably!  Oh, not all of them.  My calories were spot on most days.  However, everything else was a colossal failure.  I exercised the first week or two and then didn't do it again!  Step count was next to nothing most days and my water.  Eii yii yii my water, lets just say it was a drought! So when I decided to get serious, I knew that those last three things would be on my habit page again.  I decided to not include the calories, that was pretty solid and darn near perfect.  I wanted to focus on things that I struggle with!  Easy peasy decision!   

So July first rolled around. And just like I expected, my calories are spot on and everything is going well.

 Exercise:  I didn't want to exercise when I woke up.  5 AM is not a friendly hour!  But I did it anyway!  I did it on July second also!    Now I am writing this on July third and I have to admit that I didn't exercise this morning.  I was thinking it was going to be a 'rest day'.  But after thinking about it throughout the day thus far, I have plans to knock out SOMETHING after work.  It's not so much that I don't want to skip a day of exercise, but rather I know that exercise will help me increase my step count so that I don't miss that goal today also! 

Steps:    I am happy to say that I got my steps in on both Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the month.  The one day I was a little shy of my goal as the day was winding down. Nope, Not allowed, not happening!  So I  made sure that I moved and walked a bit more around the yard with the dog to make it to my 5K.   (and yes, I know that 5 K is a low goal....give me time and I will raise it gradually, but right now 5K is a stretch!).   And yes, that is why I KNOW that I need to do something after work.  I'm at 2k Steps right now, and I know getting 3 K will be hard.  Sure I'll be on my feet and making dinner and whatnot, but that doesn't garner a lot of steps!  I NEED STEPS!

Water: I didn't forget my water! On the first of July I actually not only got my 64 ounces, but I also got an extra 32 ounces on top of that!  Go me!   Tuesday was not as over the top, and I just made my 64 ounces.    No extra, but I am still proud of myself!    Today is about halfway over and I am more than halfway through my water for the day, so I'm feeling good about my success for the day.

So there you have it.  I am enacting the changes necessary to turn my health journey around.  Sadly, I am not seeing any change on the scales.  But I am ok with that.  First of all, it is only 3 days in.  I am also aware that my body is probably holding on to every ounce of water since it's finally getting what it needs and that within a few days I'll probably be running to the bathroom frequently as it regulates itself, which is when my weight will drop.   But you know what, if it doesn't;  I will still be ok because I know that the habits that I am working on will have a positive impact on my overall health!

Long Fasts and Why the are not Good for Me

 There are people out there that swear by the longer fasting windows.  I just read the book Fast like a Girl that encourages longer fasts for more fat burning and cell rejuvenating benefits! (link for book....it was a good one!)  I understand the concepts and benefits.   I even think I could do it easily if I set my mind to it.  However, I have learned recently that it's just not for me.

So a month or so ago, I decided to try a longer fast.   It was a bit of a failure in that I didn't make the pie in the sky goal of 36 hours of fasting.  However, it was a victory in that I did make it 24 hours without fasting.  I was super proud of myself for the 24 hours and was so excited to see what would happen on the scales.  You an imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scales and found that I had GAINED weight!  Yes, you read that right.  24 hours without food and I showed a gain.  (You can read about the experience here.)  I was disillusioned by the experience, but vowed to try again.

Again, happened the other week when I had my Endoscopy (which I wrote about in my last post here.)  I was not allowed to eat after midnight, so when I was finished eating dinner the night before my procedure I was done until after my procedure the next day.  By the time I got done with the procedure it was late afternoon.  I knew that unless I was utterly miserably hungry that I would just wait until dinner. And lets be honest, I knew that I would be fine.   Thirsty, now that was a different story!  But thirst is not part of this post, so back to fasting and food.   I knew that I would be fine to wait for dinner at the normal hour. I had a super healthy dinner planned for us and I had made a cake that morning to go with dinner (since it was a Friday and I splurge on Fridays.  Plans were made and it was going to go great.   Except I was so tired and lazy feeling and I was getting hungry.  I wanted pizza!  I wanted wings!  I wanted it all!    And that is what we did.  We ordered wings and pizza.   And yes, I ate a half of pizza and half the order of wings!    No holds barred!  I hadn't eaten in 24 hours, I deserved that food!  At least that is what my brain was saying.  My stomach was hungry and was egging the brains thoughts along.  It was a bad combination.

I didn't think much about this until just this week, almost two weeks after the endoscopy when I realized what had really happened.  I had allowed myself to get so hungry (I didn't have a whole lot of say in the matter, although I could have had a light snack when I left the doctors office.  my in-laws were ready and willing to take me someplace to grab a bite to eat.  Food quickly became this huge thing in my mind and nothing would satisfy until I gorged myself.

So, with that said, I love fasting and I do think there are benefits of longer fasts.  But for me, I will stick with the 16:8 fast.  It allows me to eliminate a meal.  It allows my body to reset a bit.   But it keeps me from getting ravenously hungry.  Or maybe I should say what my brain tells me is ravenously hungry   For me, as a food addict, long fasts are not a good thing because it sets that addiction into full play!

Lesson learned!

The endoscopy

Where is time going?   I swear time just seems to go faster and faster each year!!!  I have had plans to sit down and write about my experience with the endoscopy and time just slipped by!   But I’m here now, only two weeks later!  (It could have been worse!  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!). 

So on June 14th I had my endoscopy!  As I spoke about in my previous post, by the time it was done I had fasted about 24 hours.  And I was hungry!   I made a a few discoveries during that forced fast, which I will delve into in a future post.  ((And I promise to write it SOON!). Anyway, back to the endoscopy!

My in-laws drove me up to my appointment, and my mother in law said she would go in when it was over to hear the report with me, since I would most likely be loopy from the anesthesia.   The fast and the drive were uneventful. The office is efficient and exactly at my appointed time they called me back.  Immediately they got me hooked up to all the machines and gizmos and placed the line for the IV.   The nurse struggled to get an IV.  Three sticks later and she hit gold, or rather she hit blood.  Luckily needles don’t bother me!   At that point, they also made me drink something.  They said it was to break down the gas bubbles in my digestive system.  Thank heavens it didn’t taste bad. Honestly, it was tasteless!   And then I waited for my turn in the procedure room.  The took in my neighbor on the other side of the curtain and the nurse told me ‘he is a colonoscopy and they typically take 20 minutes and then it will be your turn.’   

20 minutes passed, 40 minutes passed, 60 minutes .  I waited an hour and 15 minutes before they came to take me into a procedure room.  

During that time the gal that had come out of the procedure room laid in her bed moaning!  ‘Ouch ouch ouch ouch’. And then more  moans.  Followed by ‘not cool not cool not cool’ then more moans .   The nurses checked on her but never gave her the meds that I am sure she was angling for!  Hahahaha.   Too bad the curtain was pulled, I would have loved to see that drama!

Eventually they came for me.  They apologized and said that the guy in the room took a lot longer than expected.  I , of course said no problem and said ‘not a good sign when they take longer I imagine’.  The nurse grimaced and agreed.   Made me thankful all over again that my colonoscopy in January was quick and they found nothing!!

They finally took me into the room.  I looked at my watch when I went into the room and right before the doctor said hi.  They put this stopper thing in my mouth.   From what I saw it reminded me of a big pacifier that I had to bite down on.  I was focusing heavily because that kind of stuff makes me gag and it was freaking me out a bit in my mind.

The next thing I know I was wondering where the remote control was to turn off the tv!  Yup, the tv i was thinking about turning off, was actually the monitor that the doctor had used during my endoscopy.  My mind was wanting to turn off I guess.  Quickly I realized that I was still in the procedure room.  No worries, I didn’t wake up halfway through the procedure!  I was done!   I remember talking to the nurse but I can’t remember what I said.  I’m sure it was witty and totally coherent!  (Ha). I also looked at my watch and less than 10 minutes had passed. Whew, I hadn’t gone long!

Back in my little recovery/prep area they removed my IV and various monitors.  They alsogave me a drink of water.  (They gave me the smallest  glass of water  for someone that hasn’t had a drink in 8 hours…I was a thirsty girl!!). And I laid there for a few minutes.  The doctor stopped by and gave me the thumbs up.  While my mother in law was supposed to be there for the results, he gave them to me without her.   When the nurse was ‘discharging me’ she asked if I actually remembered what the doctor had said.  I was able to repeat it back to her verbatim.   

They took me and placed me in the care of my parent in-laws and I asked them to take me right away to get a drink!  That Diet Pepsi tasted so dang good!!!  The drive home was uneventful…just lots of chit chat.   

Rather anticlimactic of an experience.  Which is good.

So the results.  The doctor said everything looked good.  They did a biopsy (which I asked if that was normal and they said yes) which of course we will have to wait for the results. The only thing of note was that I have a hiatal hernia.  A very small one apparently. (2 cm). I asked the doctor what we do about that and he immediately answered, “Nothing.”  He went on to say that if it gets bigger and becomes an issue it’s surgery but otherwise nothing.  Ok then.

I see him again in a few weeks (middle of July) and I will get the biopsy results then.  I will talk to him more about the hiatal hernia too.

But you know me, I came home and checked out Doc Google!  Everything I found indicated exactly what he said…except for one thing that I stumbled upon.  That was a doctor of physical therapy.  She does videos (with her dog nearby..how cool) and she had one for hiatal hernia. She makes it sound like certain movements (basically lots of stretching of the torso) will help alleviate symptoms of a hiatal hernia and possibly repair it.  I need to go back and research that some more.  Looking at the comment on her videos people were saying ‘I started this and within weeks the symptoms of the hiatal hernia were gone, and that is after my doctor told me that the only thing to help would be surgery’.  So hmmmmmm.   Ohh and as a side note…hiatal hernia and acid reflux for what I read go hand in hand…more to talk to the doctor about!!!

So that is the scoop…more to come in a few weeks!!!

Shine

I am still doing my word of the week.  Yes, I am kinda shocked that I have maintained it for a half of year!   If you have been reading this long enough, you will notice that I try things but long term seem to ‘forget’ or fall away or move on to something else.  But the word of the week has been fairly consistent!   Sure, I have had weeks where I have maybe forgotten or just plopped a word in there just to have a word of the week.  But for the most part, I have been pretty good with my words of the week.   And even more interesting, I choose words at the beginning of the week and many times they turn into something that is meaningful or motivating for me.

My word of the week last week was Shine.  I was happy with that.  I was going to shine.  But then the whole scale fiasco happened.  (Read about that Here). I didn’t give up and maintained keeping my journal and every time I went to enter my information into my journal, I saw that word of the week.  Shine.  I even laughed a few times because I felt like anything BUT shine.  But the word reminded me daily that we sometimes have to shine even when it’s dark.  So I did it, shine I did.  Maybe it was a bit more like a dull luster, but I did it!

I stayed on course even though I was disappointed and frustrated.  I held myself together.  I I managed to lose 2.6 pounds!  So by holding onto whatever shine I could, I was able to lose 2.6 pounds!

So when this week rolled around, I decided to try the SHINE again.  I am proud of my full luster week!   Just in holding it together was a victory, the weight loss was just icing on the cake.  And if I only can generate a full luster again this week, that’s fine.  But I am aiming for a full sparkle shine!

This week I am continuing the 16:8 fast plan.  I will have a 24 hour fast in this week also.  Makes me nervous because  I did try a 24 hour fast a few weeks ago and failed.  You can read about it Here.) I had no problem reaching the 24 hours. But I gained a pound!    This fast is due to a medical procedure.   I am having an endoscopy on Friday.   No food after midnight…and by the time I get back from the procedure it will be 4ish…so it will be close to dinner…so I will just wait for dinner.    So kinda a forced fast.  I am working to keep my calories under 1500.  I need to get it a bit lower.  I know that 1200-1350 is my sweet spot and I have been hovering closer to the 1500!  But this is a work in progress!

Disappointment

The last week had been full of disappointment and frustration for me as I journey through this effort to lose weight. It’s been a one two punch for sure!

Late last  week I was out picking berries.  I had the dog with me.  She was hooked into a lead that I have set up down in that area of the yard.  All was going well.  I was paying attention to where she was and watching the location of the lead/long leash.  I have been clotheslined by her before.  It’s not fun!  (I had a bruise around my ankle and it looked like I had tried to strangle my ankle to death.)    So being mindful, when she moved in one direction, I hopped over the lead to avoid being caught.   I made it over, but the line got stuck in my sandal.  The dog wasn’t aware and kept going.  I remember my foot in the air being pulled as I tried to shake it off.   And then I went down.  Hard.  On my left side. It hurt and actually brought  tears of pain to my eyes. Fror  a few seconds, I thought that I was seriously hurt. But I was able to move everything and get to my feet.  The dog came rushing to my side. Awww how sweet, she wanted to help, right?  No, she sniffed at me once and then she decided to feast on the bowl of berries that I had dropped.  Because yes, she picks them up off the ground under the tree, but she PREFERS to eat them from my bowl or from my fingers!  Once on my feet, and with my berries once again protected from the dog, I actually was able to continue picking berries.  I figured I would be sore as all get out the next morning.

The pain the next morning wasn’t any worse.  It was just a dull ache when I used my arm.  As a few days passed,  I didn’t even notice it anymore.   That is until this morning.   I made a vow to exercise at least 3 times each week.   I only had one for this week, so I started a walking workout routine this morning (YouTube is great for workouts!)  this one apparently had me moving my arms a lot more than the first one for this week.  Half way through the workout I found myself clutching my shoulder/arm.  Not good.  I toned down the arms and got through my workout.  But now I am in pain just sitting here.   Seriously, this hurts worse than it did in the first day or two after I fell!   Frustrating!

And of course a picture of the berry snatcher.

Of course I remain frustrated at the fasting experiment that I did the other day where I fasted 24 hours and gained a pound! (You can read that Here !)   The pound did not come off.  In fact the scales went up again the next day!   Frustrating

Yes the scales went up the next day too.  By 11 pounds!   Yes, you read that right. 11 pounds!  At that point I was pretty sure that what I had been suspecting was right.  What had I been suspecting?  I had long suspected that my scales were going bad.  My weight was all over the place.  3 pounds up, three pounds down, 5 pounds up.  All within 2-3 days (or less).  That has never been the case for me. I have always been able to identify why my weight was up…or down…or whatever.  But I chalked it up to being in my 50’s.  Hormones you know.   Adding to that though, was the fact that I would step on the scales and the scales would bounce around for up to a minute before settling in its chosen weight.  Half the time I would have to try two or three times because it would give me an error message.  I thought I was just moving around, or the floor was not level.  Or something.  But with the gain of 12 pounds in  2 days, with a one day increase of 11 pounds. I knew that something was wrong!  I mean, one of those days I fasted and the next day I ate about 1400 calories. There was no way!  

So I went out and bought a new scale! I prepared myself.  The scales would probably weight me differently.  I decided to not worry about any gain I saw and just take the new number as a fresh start in June.  And let’s be honest, I was hoping for a loss with the new scales!    Considering that I started this whole post with the line that it has been a week of frustration in my weight loss journey, I’m sure you have already figured out that it wasn’t a loss!  No, it was a gain.   A big one!  So the amount of gain is depending on how you look at it.   If you don’t include the 12 pound gain from the old scales and go back to my pre fast weight, I gained 20 pounds!  (It was about 10 pounds up if you include that 12 pound gain that I experienced).

Demoralizing. Frustrating. Disheartening. Heart breaking. Disillusioned.  

Yes, all those words and more describe how I feel.   I was so happy because I was seeing my weight drop.  I was getting closer to my first goal.  (To be the same weight I was when I met Jason.)  I was killin’ it!  And then in one fell swoop I was 20 pounds heavier.  Instead of being 10 pounds away from that mini goal I was now  30 pounds away. It was enough to make me want to sit and sob.

I know, I know,  my weight the same as it was before the new scales and I didn’t really giant weight and it is just a number.  My losses from May are still effective.  And I know intrinsically that had I not lost 7 pounds in May that it would show me even higher on the new scales.  I KNOW that my efforts were not for naught.   But it sure does feel like it!

It’s been hard for me to wrap my head around an instantaneous weight gain of 20 pounds or shall I call it a recalibration.  Either way, it’s been hard for me to wrap my head around it!  I feel beat down.  I mean.  60 pounds to lose is bad enough…80 is just horrible!  

I haven’t given up. I’m still doing the 16:8 fast.  I’m still keeping my calories at 1400 or less.  I’m still trying to limit my carbs.  But admittedly, my heart hasn’t been in it this week.

A Failure

 My experiment in fasting was a failure the whole way around.  100% failure!

Ok, maybe not a total failure. But mostly a failure!

I have been doing intermittent fasting for the last few weeks and after reading the book Fast like a Girl, I decided that I wanted to do a longer fast!  I was gung ho and decided to aim for a 36 hour fast.   I gave myself an out if it was just too difficult.  I gave myself permission  to stop at 24 hours and make it an OMAD fast, which is one meal a day if I needed to. Maybe that was my first hint that failure would arrive on my doorstop!  

I made it through the day just fine.  I admit to thinking about food on occasion.  However, for the most part I didn't miss food at all.  After work I headed outside and picked mulberries and then I rushed back into the house so that I could start to process my bounty.  I ended up making 3 batches of jelly and 2 batches of syrup, about 30 jars canned in total.  All was good with my fast as I approached hour 24.

And then the unthinkable happened.   I was starting to clean up the kitchen and I picked up a pan that I had made jelly in.  Without thinking, I swiped my finger through a line of jelly and popped my finger into my mouth.  It tasted so good, but immediately I realized my mistake with my mindless taste.   I had messed up my fast with that simple taste of the sugary jelly goodness.  Furthermore, while I hadn't been really hungry or thinking about food, the taste spurred my tastebuds, body and mind (mostly the mind) to all of a sudden want food.  I NEEDED food, or so I thought.

Sooooo, I made myself a grilled cheese and ate some of the mashed potatoes that I made for Jason's dinner. I failed to reach the magic 36 hours.  Not a total failure though, because I did make it 24 hours.   I was disappointed with myself, but ok with what I did.

I couldn't wait to step on the scales.  It was going to be fabulous for sure!  Yeah.....about that......I gained a pound!    I kid you not!  I gained weight!   Isn't that a hoot!  (Not really, but I have to laugh!)

So I learned a few lessons about my longer attempt.

* Remove myself from food and I really don't miss it.

* A single taste will start the mental game telling me to eat.

* Cooking dinner for Jason and then expecting me to not eat is just not going to happen.

* Surprisingly, that grilled cheese and mashed potatoes filled me up completely and I actually even felt stuffed.

* I CAN make it a OMAD without too much difficulty.

 

Will I try it again?  The 36 hour fast?  That is debatable.  I like the concept of burning the fat.   But while someone else is in the house eating, well I'm just not sure it is for me.   The One Meal A Day?   Yes, I probably will.  I think doing the same 16:8 fast is not a long term plan.  Our bodies get used to the same things and I think that switching it up to have a no fast day and /or an OMAD day is good for the body. So I will probably do it again, even though I gained a pound.  Maybe that one pound gain was an anomaly.

 But hey, I have a medical test coming up in 2 weeks and I can't eat after midnight for the test that is at 12:45.   I'll be in the office until about 3 or so and then I have a 1 hour drive home.  So I won't even get home until 4 ish.   I will most likely just wait until dinner at that point so it will be a forced OMAD.   That will be the perfect chance to see if I end up gaining again!  :-)

 My thoughts came to me while I was fasting and going through this process.  And that is, is it even possible to get enough nutrients to function efficiently if one does an OMAD fast?

 Lots of food for thought there.   

 

Lets Try It

​A few weeks ago I started intermittent fasting. I have been doing the 16:8 method.  And surprisingly, it is working for me!   I have actually lost 7.6 pounds in the last few weeks!  I am tickled!

In the midst of me trying the intermittent fasting thing, I received notice that a book that I had on hold was available!  Hot diggity dog!   I had heard about this book months ago and had been waiting for it.  It was Fast like a Girl by Mindy Pelz.  It was all about fasting for women.  Basically learning to fast so that your fasts are in line with the different hormones that ebb and flow throughout the cycle.  There are a lot of good things in this book.  But the main thing that I am focused on right now is the benefits from a 36 hour fast.  36 hours seems to be the magic for fat burning!   

I have always been resistant to any fast longer than the 16:8.  But ive decided to try a longer fast.   I am not committing to a 36 hour.  I want to see how my body is doing.    This isn’t about torture.   So I am aiming for OMAD, which is one meal a day.   This, at the very minimum, my goal is to not eat today and instead eat at dinner while will be a day since my last meal.   If things are going well, I plan on extending it to an 36 hour fast by simply not eating dinner tonight and then breaking my fast tomorrow.   This is just for today.  I’ll go back to 16:8 after this experiment.   If it works, I will through some OMAD and 36 hours into my routine..once a week…once every two weeks.   Time will tell how often.  Right now I just have to see how I get through today!!!

Wish me luck!!!

So Many Calories Left

​I have been working to try to figure out this weight loss thing.  My weight is not budging.  It’s infuriating.  I’m not eating horrible,not perfectly, but not horrible!  I know I had to do something, make some change.  So I have adjusted once again.

So what is the big adjustment?  I’m going back to intermittent fasting.  I did it years back. It comes naturally to me as I am not a big fan of eating in the morning.  So I decided to do a fasting regime…again.  (You can read more about my prior thoughts here.)

I am once again doing the 16:8 method of fasting.  I will be fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8 hour window.  In easier terms, I need to be done eating by 8 PM and I don’t start eating again until after 12pm the next day.  So basically dinner to lunch.  Skipping breakfast.  It will actually most likely be a bit longer most days.  For example tonight my dinner is over and done and it’s 7:13 so technically my fast has started.  I know that my lunch is  not scheduled until 12:15 tomorrow.  So if my lunch happens right on time, it will end up being a 27 hour fast.  But let’s be honest.  Some days my lunch gets pushed later.  Today it was at 12:30.  But one day last week it was at 1:45.  No worries though!

Im doing what is called a dirty fast.  My fast is not 100% clean.  I am still making my drink in the morning…which is water with a trace mineral vitamin and mineral pack in it.  The calories are so small it’s negligible but it does ruin my chances of a ‘clean’ fast.   For me it’s a trade off…water is important and I feel as if those vitamin and mineral packs are instrumental to my health also.   So a trade off!

The benefit of intermittent fasting?   I am not eating those calories for breakfast so I have them to eat later in the day!  It makes it so much easier to stay within my set calorie range!   Yay!!!!!

Just A Week

​There is so much going on in my head!   I have things swirling up there and want to share it all, but not sure if I have the words because I’m still trying to figure it out myself.  But hey, let’s try!

The word of the week for this week is another phrase.  In fact, it’s the same phrase as last week.   That phrase is ‘just a week’.    Last week I made the vow that I can keep my calories in check for ‘just one week’.   It’s only a week.  I wasn’t asking to never indulge again, I was just saying hold it together for just one week.   And my specific plan was to keep the calories at right around 1400 or lower.   I managed it.  But I didn’t  lose a pound!   By the end of the week I was so utterly weary and depressed.  Why am I even trying to do this when my weight isn’t dropping.  It feels as if it is all in vain!   A whole lot of blood sweat and tears for a whole lot of nothing.    

I will throw in the disclaimer that I KNOW that any healthy change I make will have a positive impact on my body and health….but dang-it, I want to lose weight too!

I was weary.  Weary of trying to find food to eat that would fit in my plan.  Weary of counting my food.  Weary of thinking about every bite.  Weary of it all.   I never contemplated quitting, but I was weary and didn’t know how to move forward amidst the weariness. 

On Saturday I woke up still not sure what my plan was going to be.  Luckily I came up with a plan, while in the shower.   I was taking a ‘vacation day’ from this healthy living thing.  I was going to eat  what I want and not worry about it.  Just for that day.   Some people would cal this a cheat day, but I don’t like the word cheat because it has such negative connotations.  So I’m using the word vacation day, in honor of my father who used to take vacation days from his medications.  Yes, every Friday my father didn’t take any pills.  He said it was his vacation day!   So I decided to be my father’s daughter and take a vacation day from healthy living.   I started the day with chocolate chip pancakes.   Two of them, and I promptly burned one!  So I ate one chocolate chip pancake (and I was surprisingly quite satisfied with only one!).  For lunch I grabbed a turkey wrap.  For dinner we had subs and chips.  And I had a chocolate chip cookie.  My calories were around 1800.  Not horrible!  I was right back at it  with healthier options on Sunday…the vacation day reset my feelings about this journey.   While I was thinking about this plan, I realized that I used to do this years back when I was losing the weight the first time!  So it worked then, hopefully it works now too!  So I will be having more vacation days!

So I did start this week strong!   I vowed to do ‘just one week’ again, but with a twist.   I’m still working to keep calories low, but I am also vowing to only eat complex carbs a for one meal!   Carbs in the form of bread, pasta, potatoes have historically been an issue for me and I have always seemed to lose better when I limit it to one a day.  So it’s just one week…let’s see what happens if I limit for one week!

So now for the things that are jumbled in my head.  First and foremost, I have been feeling a bit like my life is all weight loss.  Like my weight and my efforts to lose weight is what defines me.  I mean, I’ve been online posting about it for so long it’s embarrassing!  (Since 2006, you can read my first post here.)   I am more than weight loss though, yet I feel as if that is all I am.   Everything in my life and thoughts go back to that, and I am not sure I like it.  But how do I change that?

The other thing is that I would love to come up with a side hustle to add a bit of income to our lives.  But what.  Admittedly I have thrown out a few lines, but nothing has worked for me.   Is it me?  Do I just lack something?   Perseverance?   I obviously have perseverance with weight loss…I mean since 2006…but do I fail at other things because I give up when it gets hard?   Or do I just lack some intrinsic brain power to make things happen.   

I know that very often I will quickly will jump on a bandwagon and go full force ahead, and then stop dead at some point.  I stop because it gets hard? I hit a brick wall, I get bored.  Any number of reasons.  But I stop.  And this, I get no where!  

I feel just stuck in life. Happy in my marriage but miserable with my work life.  Looking for a way out…but whelp, the bills still need paid and the animals still need to eat!!

Testing it out

 April has come to a close and with that a new month.   To me, a new month is a time for new beginnings.  This month was no different.  

April was not a stellar month for me in some areas.   But in other areas it was fantastic!    I had some goals for the month of April (ok, they are the same most months).

** Track all my food

** Exercise daily

** Lose Weight

** Continue to bank my miles for my 2024 mile challenge

** Purge 5 items

** Read at least one non fiction /educational/self help (Edifying) book

** Drink 64 ounces of water a day

As I said, it was a mixed bag. here it is, the good, the bad and the ugly!

** Track all my food-  I did this!   I was spot on with my tracking.  I did it each and every day without fail!  I didn't always (rarely) track before I ate but it was all tracked!

** Exercise daily- This was a colossal failure!  I was gung ho at the beginning of the month. I was going to get back to my daily exercise and set the world on fire!   However, when it came down to it I failed.  I started the month strong and exercised two times in the first few days of the month....and then didn't exercise again the rest of the month. Yeah, huge failure!

** Lose Weight-  I had grand plans that I was going to lose and I was going to lose big!   This is one of those mixed bags.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrid!  I lost.....1.2 pounds for the month.  So a measly amount of weight loss.   And don't get me wrong, I am tickled with ANY loss.  Heck, I am even tickled with a maintain.  But I know in my heart that I could have done better.

** Continue to bank my miles for my 2024 mile challenge  Here is another colossal failure.  I was holding my own with my miles from January through March.  I wasn't banking a ton of extra miles, but I was holding my own.  And then April hit!  In fairness, I was fighting off some sickness the one week.  But that is just an excuse.  Because that was only one week!   There were three other weeks in the month!   But, the down and dirty of it all is that I ended up the month behind by 25 miles!   Not Cool!

** Purge 5 items.  Nailed it!   Yes, I nailed this one.  I am doing pretty good with the purging.  I need to really get into it and purge some more, but I purged.  I sold some items on facebook market place and the rest I carted to Goodwill!

** Read at least one non fiction /educational/self help (Edifying) book.   It should come as no surprise that I nailed this one.  Reading has never been a problem for me.....even if it is more 'edifying' content. 

** Drink 64 ounces of water a day-  This was another huge failure.    I may have reached the magical 64 ounces, which I want to be my MINIMUM each day once or twice!   I am telling you.  Huge failure!

May is a new month though.  It's a time for new beginnings.  It is time to be fabulous and not just meet my goals but smash them to smithereens!     My goals are remaining the same with the exception of an additional goal.  That additional goal is that I want to reach 5 thousand  steps each day.  I admittedly get most of my steps for the 2024 challenge on the exercise bike.  My steps are just the additional boost to get me over the hump so i don't focus on getting the steps as much as I should.  So this month I am aiming to get at least 5,000 steps a day.

I am trying a new journalling system of my own creation to keep track of everything.  I have never been happy with the journals that I can find.  They never have what I think a weight loss journal needs!  So I made my own. I"m going to play around with it and change/adjust and refine it and maybe I will have one printed for me for next year versus creating my pages each month on my own.  We shall see.   

I have a page where I will be keeping track of my habits, a page to track my food consumption.  And on that page I also have columns where I can indicate I ate fast or slow.  I have a place to indicate if I took my acid reflux pill and I have a column to keep track of the acid reflux.  (I am honestly not sure that the pill is working.)   I have a page for my measurements.  I also have a place for my word of the week.  And of course I have a page for my goals.  I have also included a page for me to keep track of my reading...not just what I am reading by an area for a small review for each book.  
 

I am trying to streamline my intel into one place.  I will still be using myfitnesspal for tracking and my garmin and the garmin app to track my steps.  But I need to have all of this information in one place that I can see all at the same time.  I do better with good old fashioned pen and paper.  SO I'm giving it a test run!   We shall see how it works!

 

A Light through the cracks

 I have made it my goal to read more 'inspirational or educational books' this year.  My goal is at least one a month.   Honestly, that's been pretty easy.  I am averaging about 2 a month (on top of my normal reading of fiction books).  I picked up a memoir the other day.   While maybe not educational in a sense that I would learn something that would be useful for my personal health and fitness journey, this book was still inspirational and a very good read.

I am not ashamed to say that I picked up this memoir due to the fact that the mountain climber had been kidnapped and I wanted to read the gory details.  However, I got a lot more than that in the book, A Light Through the Cracks by Beth Rodden. 

The book does give the details of the kidnapping that occurred while she was on an international climbing trip.  However, the story of that terrifying ordeal is interspersed throughout the book as the author relays what brought her to that point and how she struggled to survive and move on after the experience.   This was a story of a young girl who followed her dream of being a climber and became a professional/sponsored climber.  It is the story of a young woman who struggled for years to overcome the fears and trauma caused by the events that occurred during a seemingly simple overseas trip.  The guilt caused her to pursue relationships that were not healthy.   Her fear caused her to avoid people and situations.  Almost every decision made after that momentous event was clouded with the past traumatic stress of the events.  

Even more interesting to me, we are able to follow a professional mountain climber as she lives in a male dominated sport.  We walk with her as she fears losing her sponsors and as she works to complete difficult climbs.  Along the way, she explains different aspects of mountain climbing so that the without realizing it, the reader is becoming educated in the sport of mountain climbing.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was not what  expected in that it didn’t dwell on the actual events of the kidnapping.  But it was a really good read. The story flowed and was informative and told in such a way that you couldn’t help but like the characters and hope for the best for them. 

Grief is a Funny Thing

Grief

 Just when I thought I was doing better.  We have been powering through clearing out my parents house.  While it is overwhelming and some weeks I leave and feel as if we are not making any headway, because seriously were does all this stuff come from?   But in my heart I know we are doing good.  We have moved through the house with laughter at the memories that our parents left us.  I have cried less and less.  But then grief reared it's ugly head.     In a way, it's funny.  But on the other hand, I just sit here and cry.

For the last two nights I have had dreams. Both of them had a similar theme, a parent had come back to life.  In the first dream, my dad was alive again. After all these years (dad died in 2017) he was back with us and alive.   And in my dream I was panicked, because over the last few months since mom died, we have dismantled his life.  We have gotten rid of things that he saved for years.  (Bulletins from every Sunday he preached, which spanned 50 years, files upon files both in paper and digital formats). And we have been ok with it, what we are getting rid of is not at all sentimental to us (we keep anything that is sentimental to us and we even have a box of things that we have kept that was highly sentimental to our parents, things like my dad's squeak toy from when he was a baby).   But in my dream I was in a state of panic because my dad had come back to life and I had to tell him that I had gotten rid of so much of his stuff.  I woke up before i had to tell him, but the angst was there.

Then last night, I dreamt that I was working and had to run out to get something for my computer, so I snuck into a visit to 'mom's new nursing home."  Mom directed me and I pushed her in a wheelchair through this new home and when people would talk to us, we would share the story about how she had been dead for 10 days, but was alive now and that is why we moved her to this new (weirdly laid out) nursing home.

I'm telling you, grief is weird!

What goes around comes around

 A few years ago I wrote a post about "It's only."   (you can read it here)  I used that mantra for a while, but then I totally forgot about it!  For a few years I forgot about it!  But today, I remembered it.  I was watching a youtube video of a fellow weight loss journey and the gal was talking about her frustration and actually just doing it and how she had to do something but she kept failing day in and day out.   And at that moment I knew and remembered my mantra!  

The process of this is to set a goal or a challenge for just a short time.  And then stick to it....because it's ONLY a day, or a week, or a month!   This came around when I was working at the bank.  EVERYONE was bringing us donuts, candy and other treats and it was really hard to resist.  My manager and I were both struggling.  And then one day while we were talking we decided that we were going to challenge each other to resist the temptation until our back to back vacations. (she went on vacation one week and I went the following week).   During our conversation we made the comment that 'it's only six weeks until vacation time, we can resist for six weeks.  Anyone can resist for six weeks!  We laughed and said that after the six weeks we could eat anything we wanted....we only had to make it the six weeks.

And do you know what happened?  The mantra worked.  When people brought us donuts and other amazingly tempting items, we resisted because it was only a few weeks that we had to do it!  And we both made it the complete 6 weeks!

So that is my challenge!  Next week. I want my calories between 1200-1400. I'm only asking for next week.  Not the next month, or the next year or the rest of my life!  Just one week!  I am being kind to myself and giving myself a pass for the weekend...but those days I have to remain under 1600 calories.   I am doing this because i am trying to find balance between being mired in a weight loss journey and life!  So my weekends are usually a bit more relaxed.   

So this is my line in the sand!  This week...one week...it's ONLY one week!  I can definitely do it!

Did I do it

 My word (or rather phrase) of the week for last week was Just Do it.   The question is did I actually do it?

So what did I have to 'just do'.   The main thing was get my butt in gear and move!   I had been fighting off a cold or some crud. (Jason had it worse and is still congested and sniffly.) Due to feeling under the weather I stopped standing at my desk.  I had worked my way up to standing about 3 hours and then I felt so run down that I didn't stand at all for a week.  At the same time, I also failed to get on the exercise bike during my break.  

The bike is important because that helps me earn the miles that I need each day for my 2024 miles in 2024 challenge. (You can read a bit about that challenge here.)    In short, I need about 5.5 miles each day in order to obtain the magical 2024 miles by the end of 2024.   I was on target with my miles, and even had a few miles banked for a rainy day.  Then I was sick and didn't ride or even walk all that much.   So after my week of being sick I was behind!  This past week was to be my redemption!  I was going to get back on the bike and at the barest minimum not fall further behind.  So how did I do?   Well, I did ride!  But not enough!  I missed one day, simply because I had fallen out of the habit (yes, one week and the habit was broken) and simply forgot!  I also was off on day and didn't ride that day.  So I didn't make up ground and in fact, I actually am a bit further behind now!  Yup, so a mixed bag of success for actually riding at all; but a failure because I fell further behind.

So how did I do with the stand up desk?   I stood.  The first day I only stood for an hour, but by the end of the week I had gotten myself back to 3 hours.  In fact, that last day I was even doing a little two step dance at times at my desk!  

My eating was pretty solid!  I didn't have any day where I binged and/or overate.  I made healthy choices and kept my calories in line.  Of course, there is always room for improvement!  ALWAYS.   So this week I will focus on getting more fruits and veggies.   I will also work on drinking more water (why is water such a difficult one for me?)

It's spring and I've been able to get outside some and work in the yard.  It feels good to get some fresh air without freezing my behind off.  This past week I worked on preparing the soil in the three new beds. Yes, we are adding three new beds to the vegetable garden.  (they are each about 8 feet by 4 feet).  I have been digging and raking and working the soil and pulling junk out of it (weeds, roots, clumps of grass, trash, and the ever present rocks).  And each time I go through the soil to remove all this unwanted junk, it is just helping to prep the soil!    I have also weeded (Must.Get.Mulch.Soon) and transplanted plants from my mom's to my place.  Yes, I grabbed some hostas!  I had been talking to mom before she died about splitting her hostas (they are Way past due for a split) but ended up totally removing about 4 feet of them after talking to my brother.  Free plants are GREAT!  

 

I'm slowing starting to see my weight trend lower and lower.  My scales have been really odd lately and they fluctuate and aren't at all reliable (At least I don't feel they are since I can weigh myself twice right in a row and get two different numbers.)  Could I get a new scale?  Sure.  But I have a sneaky feeling it is our uneven floors that is the culprit!   BUT, what I am feeling good about is the fact that just a month or so ago the numbers were fluctuating at the top of this 'decade' and even going into the decade above my  weight.  And now, the numbers are fluctuating at the lower end of the decade and I have even seen the decade below once or twice!   So I'll take that as a sign.   I don't need to know the exact number, I just need to know that it is going down.  So I will take that as a win!

Jason got a new toy yesterday, so we stuck around the house and he messed around with that.  Today we HAVE to get out and mow the yard (at least a few areas that are bad).   We hopefully will be getting a riding mower within a week or so.    Jason's parents have a friend that is selling a zero turn mower at a good deal. Jason's dad went to look at it and says it looks good.  They originally told us that it would need back tires within a year, but they were thinking that they would last for another year.   But when they pulled it out to tune it up and sharpen the blades (yes, they do their own work on their equipment...and actually do some as a side business apparently and yes we will be calling them to tune up our push mowers and snow blower soon!) they realized the tire wouldn't hold air, so they ordered them and are putting them on !  Yay!  So hopefully the days of push mowing 8 hours to get the yard mowed (and doing it weekly) will soon be behind us!  Once we can mow faster, we will have more time for the fun stuff in the yard.   Fun stuff?  Finishing clearing the brush and weeds, landscaping, gardening, etc!   Ohhh yeah, and maybe we can get back out to hiking too once the yard doesn't take so much time! 

I have been lamenting for the last year or two that all of my healthy living and life stats are scattered here and there.   For example my calories are in Myfitnesspal and my steps are in garmin. And I have to manually add my exercise bike miles to one or the other or both.  And each app is awesome, but they don't always integrate into one thing.  Myfitness pal doesn't do to bad with pulling info into one...but I have other things that I want to track like healthy habits, my reading (which I do have an app for...but once again...a different app) and even if I took my medicine for the acid reflux and how I feel after I eat.....trying to see if the medicine helps...or if certain foods and certain eating behaviors help).  I buy a day planner yearly, which I try to pull everything to....but there is a lot of stats and information.   In December I toyed with creating my own planner.  I was going to create it in canva, place it in my kindle direct publishing account for 'sale' and then buy it from there to have it printed up nice.  But when I started to create it I was stumped.  What do I need to include...how do I want it laid out...so many questions and I just didn't do it.   BUT, I have decided to do more of a bullet journal for now.  Each month create pages that I think I would like to have included.  And then use it for the month.  I can then take notes of what is missing, what doesn't work, what works and adapt it for the next moth.   I will only be creating one month at a time, so I can always adjust.  So yesterday I bought a blank 'sketch pad' style book and hopefully today I can start creating what May is going to look like.  Right now I am thinking of the following things:

*  Calendar page (typical calendar month page).  On this calendar page I will divide the square for the day into 4-5  each section will be colored when I successfully complete the habit for the day.   So I can be working  on and tracking  4 habits.  (I will be tracking things like   water, food tracking, exercise, vitamins, Did I get my miles for the 2024, etc)

*  Pages for Food consumption.  I have gone back and forth with two thoughts on this.  The first is a place that I can write down all my food and the corresponding calories.  The second is to actually just have a page (another calendar??) that shows my total calories for the day.  I like the abbreviated version because it would be easier to see how I did at a quick glance.  But I feel as if I need to have my food written out side by side with my habits while eating (did I eat fast...slow...etc) and how I felt after I ate (acid reflux or no)  AND a place to indicate if I took my pill or not before eating.    That is the benefit of creating each month as I go....I can try both and I can adjust monthly.

*  Water consumption....

*A monthly goal page - monthly goals.  such as 'did you lose weight', 'did you exercise 3 times a week'  did you at least maintain your 2024 miles.   Simple yes and no questions (Could be broken into different sections, weight loss goals, life goals, reading goals, household goals)

*Monthly wrap up -  page for highlights from the month (for example if we go for a long hike or on vacation....) and any goals that need a bit more discussing.

* I have always gone back and forth between adding in mood/emotions to a journal.  But it could be an interesting add to the journal to correspond with my food... how much does food affect me mood?

* Obviously an area for weight 

* A review page for a quick review on books I read for the month.....or at least a place to PUT the books I read that month. 

* I also just saw someone else include in their journal a calendar that allowed them to show when they started a book and when they ended the book.   I thought that would be neat.  

*A place to put my word of the week- and maybe a little area as to why I chose it..or how it affected me?

*Body Measurments

What am I missing???

So we shall see how this goes!   Wish me luck!  I will share on here when it's done!