The happiest (cough, sniffle, sneeze) time of the year

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How in the world can I be getting sick at this time of the year?  There’s so much to be done, gifts to wrap (well, to drop in gift bags is more like it), cards to address and send, cookies to bake, the house to clean, oh yeah, and work.  How could I forget to mention work?  Well…after rereading what I just wrote, I guess the question isn’t how can I be getting sick but rather how could I not be getting sick?

I’ve found myself skipping breakfast and my vitamins and supplements more days than not.  I know I haven’t been consistently eating the fruits and veggies I need .  I haven’t been getting enough sleep.  I’ve been working long hours and dealing with a lot of stress.  Gee, do you think any of those things have had an impact on my health?

Not a lot I can do about all of those things right now as far as the cold I have today is concerned.  But I can work to build up my immune system so I can better fight off the cold and flu that I’m sure will be spreading around work like wildfire in the next several months.  The working long hours?  Okay, that I have to do for a couple more weeks (wow, is it really just a couple more weeks until Christmas?).  But I am going to plan a nice relaxing vacation for early January.  That’ll give me something to look forward to.  The sleep?  I’m going to try to get to bed early enough to get at least 7 hours of sleep.  Not eat before going to bed, I think that will help me sleep better.  The diet?  Ahh…now that I can control, right now, today.  As I was cleaning up the kitchen tonight, I decided to go ahead and prepare my lunch for tomorrow.  A nice sub on whole wheat with lots of veggies and a little brown mustard.  I’ll also take a V8Fusion with me.  So, right there, at lunch I’ll have four fruits and veggies.  Soup and salad for dinner will give me another 2 or 3 servings.  That’s all it takes.  I want to run in to Kroger and get a bag of cuties.  I can eat a couple of those over the course of the day and get a good dose of vitamin C.

Oh yeah, and I made an extra sandwich for my boss too.  Once again, he told me he didn’t eat at all yesterday.  He just drinks coffee and then wonders why his stomach hurts…Why do we all do things that we know aren’t good for us?  What do you do that you know isn’t in your body’s best interest?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 105

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Another wild and crazy day…early day at work, lots accomplished…oh, and the district manager is stopping in for a visit tomorrow…it’s just a crying shame that I won’t be there!!  I’m planning to thoroughly enjoy my day off.  Let’s see, sleep in until whenever, do a few errands and a little shopping, take a walk (oh how I hope the day is as pretty as today was…this was truly one of those perfect fall days) and who knows what else…whatever sounds like fun.

My eating?  Well, I’ve really got to take some time and prepare something with some veggies in it.That’s the thing I’m still not eating enough of, veggies.  Maybe a juicer would help?

Plenty of exercise for the day though.  Before work I did some upper body strength training and some range of motion exercises for my shoulder, then I walked for 25 minutes in addition to all of the walking I did at work.

I didn’t get anywhere near enough sleep last night though.  I woke up at 2:30 and just could not go back to sleep.  I guess I was just so excited about the upcoming workday…I get that way sometimes…

What about you?  What are you excited about?

 

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 98

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My last day off work, darn it!  It didn’t seem like I had much of a vacation this time, between doctor’s visits and going to the bmv, working one of the days I scheduled off so I could be there for that wonderful corporate visit, then yesterday’s headache..well, I didn’t have time to do much around the house.  Oh well, why should my vacation time be any different from any other time, right?

I did walk for about 30 minutes this morning…thank goodness for my treadmill since it rained all day here.  We needed the rain, so I’m not complaining about that.   And my eating was okay today, not great, but not terrible either.  I’ve got my meals and snacks planned for tomorrow.  Guess I should go into the kitchen and get everything prepared so I don’t have lack of time as an excuse for not taking healthy food to work with me, huh?

I used my new carpet cleaner today.  When I put it together, I was a little concerned with how small the clean water tank is.  But I was able to use it today and clean up all the spots I wanted to clean and still have some cleaning fluid left in the tank.  It worked really well and was easy to clean.  I’d say I’m a satisfied customer.  Now if I can just keep Goldi from puking on the carpet…why do they always do it on the carpet anyhow?  I mean, my kitchen, bathrooms, and entry are all tile and would be much easier to clean.  But does she ever throw up in one of those rooms?  Heck no!  She’s got to do it where I have to get out the carpet cleaner.  Oh well…it can’t be deliberate, can it?  Do you think she’s mad about something?  Nah…not Goldi.  Spooky I could see doing something out of meanness…or, well, make that mischieviousness…that’s it.

I had a great day of writing on my book.  It really flowed well and rereading what I’d written made me smile.  I wish every day could be like that, but I know they won’t all be that good.  Such is life…

Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend and is ready for another fun-filled week!

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 94

I think this is day 94, I’m so sleepy and tired that I’m not absolutely certain what my name is…Abigail, right?  Uhh…wait…that’s not right…Anyhow, the first day of my vacation started really early…like 2 am, how’s that for early?  We found out yesterday that we were going to have corporate visitors today.  We were the first stop on a whirlwind, two-day tour of the district.  I don’t want to say too much about it…you never know who might be reading these things…you know, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that people aren’t spying on you…suffice it to say, we got a “C” on the visit.  I’m unaccustomed to receiving a C in anything…an awful lot of work went into that C…I’ll just leave it at that and you can fill in the blanks.  But it’s over and now I really am on vacation…I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.  And then just spending the day doing whatever I want to do.

I didn’t do any official exercise today…but I did do a ton of running around, ladder climbing, stair climbing, lifting, etc.  Oh yeah, and stressing out, as we did our last-minute preparations for the big visit. 

I finished the day with about 1400 calories, unless I decide to eat a bowl of ice cream later…I may just be too tired to do that though.  And that wouldn’t be a bad thing.  Just go to bed and forget about the ice cream.

I did still manage to get in my 750 words today.  I’m working on my book now and making some progress.  Kind of exciting to be able to say “I’m writing a book.”  One of my friends told me about a friend of hers who has written several books, told me she was sure she’d be glad to help me out if I have any questions.  See, you just never know when a networking opportunity might show up.  Just be open to the opportunities….go for it!

So, what is everyone else doing?  I feel like I’ve kind of lost touch a little what with going to bed so early every night and working so many hours every day….what’s going on?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 87

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I had a much better day today.  Oh wait, I had the day off work…that pretty much automatically makes it a better day…less stress, more me time, not getting up at 3:30 in the morning…well, I must admit, I did wake up at 3:30 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I decided to get up and try to catch up on my email…so I did that for about an hour, went back upstairs and read in bed until I got sleepy.  Then I turned the light off and slept until a little after 8!  Sleeping until 8…wow…luxury!!

I didn’t exercise at all today..what a slacker.  But my body was just so tired after working multiple 12 hour workdays in a row…ugh!  I just kind of took it easy today.  I made a delish vegetable beef soup in the crock pot.  Okay, I was thinking fall and it ended up getting up to 90 degrees today.  But the soup was still wonderful…and it’s supposed to cool off now, plus I ran the AC, so I didn’t really feel the heat.  I love eating soup when it’s chilly outside.  And now my entire house smells like someone’s been cooking…well, I guess someone has…me! 

I ended up eating only a little over 1300  calories for the day.  I just didn’t eat much, not because I was thinking about not eating much, but because I was doing other things (writing, mainly) and only ate when I realized I was really hungry…stomach growling kind of hungry.  That’s a good thing, right?  That’s how “normal” people behave…or at least how I imagine normal people behave…not sure I know too many normal people.

All in all, a good day.  A day to kind of rejuvenate.  I think days like this are necessary every once in a while.  Now to get ready to go in to work early again tomorrow and try to get all of the things done that need to be done. 

So…do you eat “normally”, when you realize you’re hungry?  Or do you eat out of boredom, emotionally, out of habit in certain situations?  I would sure like to experience more of that normal eating…not even really thinking about it.  Or am I just imagining that other people are that way with food?  Hmm…sounds like some good research material.

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 83

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Okay, I must admit, I’m writing this long before the day has ended.  I found out yesterday afternoon, late in the work day actually, that my schedule was going to change for today and that I was going to have to close tonight.  With all of my sleep woes, I knew I would need to at least attempt to get some sleep tonight and getting home late from work kind of makes that super difficult.  I didn’t want to have to stay up even later trying to write a blog post…a post that probably wouldn’t even make much sense what with me being tired and sleepy. 

So…I’ve already biked and walked this morning…did core strength training.  I’m sure I’ll be extremely active at work today too.  That’s the easy part of my day to report on…the exercise.  The eating?  Well, I ate my usual healthy breakfast, took my vitamins.  I have to figure out what to take for my dinner tonight.  Lunch will be some flaxseed crackers with Laughing Cow cheese and a low-sodium V8…not the best lunch in the world, but not terrible either.  Dinner, I still don’t know…I’ll have to figure something out soon though.  I know I do have some chicken veggie burgers at work, so that’s a possibility along with  a spinach salad and a piece of fruit.  Hmm…that sounds pretty good…quick and easy too!  That’s it…not enough veggies, but still decent.

How do you deal with unexpected changes to your daily schedule?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 80

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Sweet…80 days..and today was a pretty good day on the eating and exercising front.  Maybe, just maybe, I’ve got this thing turned around again.

I walked, biked, did core strength training and some stretches today…oh yeah, and worked a truck…lots of ladder climbing, running around and lifting heavy (and some not so heavy) boxes.

I also ate well today.  I have tomorrow’s meals and snacks packed.  Yes, you heard me…tomorrow…Chris said he needed me to come in for a while tomorrow so I went ahead and packed up my healthier food options.  We’re going in at 5 am and I can guarantee you I won’t feel like cutting up cantaloupe before I go.

This is going to have to be super short tonight because I really, really need to get some sleep.  How was everyone’s day after Labor Day?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 78

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This was such a pleasant day today.  I woke up to a light rain, something we really need.  I went downstairs, got the newspaper, fed the cats, made breakfast for myself, then took my breakfast and the newspaper upstairs and sat in bed, propped up with my pillows,  eating breakfast while reading the paper.  Ahh…how peaceful and relaxing. 

I was inspired by last night’s episode of a hoarders show to clean house.  I completely cleaned the bedroom..it looks so nice.  Who knows? It may enable me to sleep a little better tonight.  I vacuumed and dusted, cleaned the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen.  I really enjoy coming home from work to a nice, clean house.  Now if I open that front door tomorrow evening and that little monster Spooky has messed up the house, I’m going to be so mad…oh probably not really.  She does have a tendency to drag her toys out of her toy dish (someone once gave me a huge cat dish, a dish that is much too large for a cat to eat from.)  It’s so cute that I decided to use it to keep her toys in.  A toy dish instead of a toy box.  Poor little kitty, she’s so mistreated.

I had a good day of exercising…biking, walking, strength training and stretching.  My eating was just okay.  I, once again, should have eaten more veggies.  I’m working on it though.  I have my menu planned for the week and my goal is to fit in a few more veggies than I’ve been eating.  Veggie burgers and either cole slaw or a large salad at work, spinach in my smoothies, a low sodium V8 in the afternoon.  That would be better than what I’ve been doing.  I really admire these folks who manage to eat 8 or 9 servings of veggies each day.  Not sure how I could manage that…guess I’ll just have to work my way up to it.

 

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 65

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Well, today was weigh in day…no weight loss this week…darn it.  Of course, I pretty well knew that in advance.  But I’m really going for it this week…extra cardio workouts on at least four days and lots of fruits and veggies every day.  That’s my goal for the week…and I’m going to do it!

I did get in a 40 minute walk today.  I’ve just been so tired from working like a crazy person the past few days.  What was it my grandma used to say?  “No rest for the wicked?”  Isn’t it really supposed to be “No rest for the weary.”?  That would apply too, in my case.

I really, really hope I can get some sleep tonight.  I’m so tired and aching, but still can’t seem to sleep the night through.  Hmm…this might be a night to take some Tylenol PM…that just might help with both issues.  And I know not getting enough sleep hurts with the weight loss…I think I just eat more when I don’t get enough sleep…kind of my body’s way of trying to get the energy to keep going.  Do you find the same thing to be true for yourself?

So have you set any goals for the week?  Do you have any exciting plans?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 64

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Another good day today.  At least I finally managed to get more than a few hours of sleep, right at seven hours last night.  I’m aiming for the same tonight.  That makes the entire day better.

I ate well today…finished the day just under 1700 calories, walked for 35 minutes, plus lots of action at work.  I didn’t realize, until I was already home, that I ate exactly what I’d planned to eat all day.  No vending machine stuff, no candy…yea me!!

I ate that Asian pear today.  Sorry to say, that fruit isn’t making it on to my favorite fruits and veggies list…it was okay, but that’s about it.  Kind of mild tasting like all pears I’ve ever eaten.  It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either.  Give me a slice of melon or a juicy ripe peach any day.  But at least I tried something new.  Maybe I’ll go for a new veggie next week, since that seems to be what I have the most trouble eating adequate amounts of.  Any suggestions?  What I should probably really plan to do is try out some new recipes for veggies…something to look into, right?

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