Here’s to a healthy September

I like this take on the traditional food pyramid – note the incorporation of water (and tea, it says) along with physical exercise at the top. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hard to believe it’s September, isn’t it?  Where in the world did the summer disappear to?  Since seeing my doctor last week, I’ve decided to rededicate myself to living a little healthier.  You know the drill, eat better, move more, go to sleep earlier, reduce stress.  We all know that’s how to be healthier, but it’s easier to talk about it than it is to actually do it.

Anyhow, when I saw my doctor, we talked about my pain and sleep issues.  Of course, my weight has to have some impact on everything.  I promised her I’d work on eating better and exercising more.  She’s very understanding about how difficult it is to exercise vigorously when I’m in so much pain.  She did suggest several forms of exercise that are a little gentler on my joints, so now I really have no excuse.

I started the month off with my calorie intake at the low-end of the range and 35 minutes of walking.  And of course, I visited SparkPeople.com to log everything.  Now to get some sleep…

Do you guys try to lose weight before the holidays so you can splurge a little at all of those holiday shindigs?  I’ve  done that in years gone by, not sure how well it worked for me though.  I think this year I’m just going to try to eat healthy most of the time and have a little something extra maybe once a week…so Donna, maybe you shouldn’t bring your delicious peanut butter cookies to work…

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Life’s ups and downs

English: Jump! Deutsch: Spring! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oh my…how in the world do you manage to face the ups and downs in your life and still maintain a positive outlook and cheerful attitude?  I know it can be done, I know people who do it.  And what?  Do they face less stress than the rest of us?  Do they not have problems?  Of course that’s not it.  We all know that’s not how it is.  Everyone has stress, everyone has problems.  Some folks simply handle those things better than others.

I’ve allowed the stress at work to affect my attitude even when I get home.  I don’t want to live like that.  One of the girls I work with (I was told, by a co-worker, that I should refer to the women I work with as “girls”, otherwise they feel as old as their mothers…hmm…) asked me if I was still walking and exercising daily.  When I told her I wasn’t, she asked me why.  When I told her I wasn’t doing anything like that because I’m depressed…well…that kind of hit me.

Do I not realize by now that daily exercise is the cure for depression?  That eating a healthy diet makes me feel better about everything else in my life?  That following my passion allows me to shake off the stress from work when I leave the building?  Uh…yeah…I do realize all of those things.  So why haven’t I been doing them?  I mean, I can only blame depression for so long…then there comes a time when I have to take responsibility for myself and do what I need to do to feel better.

I’m pretty much thinking that time is now.  Time to get back to exercising.  I’ve been eating better, more fruit and veggies, less vending machine food, less fast food, taking my lunch to work.  So I feel like I’ve taken a few steps in the right direction as far as food is concerned.  Now to add a few minutes of exercise to my daily routine.  And to spend at least some time every day doing something that I enjoy…whether that be writing, dancing, music, going for a walk in the park, hitting the farmers market…whatever…there are so many choices, I just need to convince myself to do something that makes me smile.

I want to wake up looking forward to the day ahead rather than dreading it.  And there’s no time like now to start this new way of dealing with life.  I’m going for it!

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 162

What a wacky day at work today.    Did I get anything at all done that I needed to do?  Well, maybe a couple of things, but then it got crazy busy and now I can’t even remember what I did this morning.  I know I spent most of the afternoon running register…you have to know that’s my absolute favorite thing to do…cough, cough…it’s just about on par with seeing my ob/gyn for an exam!  “Nough said…

I finally forced myself to leave the store (it was quite the battle, let me tell you) and was talking to myself while I was driving through the parking lot.  “I really want to stop and get something to eat.”  “No you don’t.  That’s just the exhaustion and stress talking.  You know you have perfectly good homemade soup at home waiting for you.”  “Yeah, but a burger sounds better and easier.”  “It won’t really be easier.  You’ll have to drive to a restaurant, sit in the drive thru waiting for your order, pay for it.  All of that takes time.  Just go home and eat what you’d planned.”  “Okay, okay…sheesh…all I wanted was a quick burger.  But I’ll go home and eat vegetable soup.  Are you happy now?”  Honestly?  I didn’t actually have that entire dialog with myself, but I could have.  I wanted to stop and get a burger, but I didn’t because I had soup at home.  See, that’s not anywhere near as interesting as talking to yourself.

Speaking of talking to yourself…do you do that?  I do at times and feel somewhat silly about it.  But after opening the back door for the UPS guy this morning and hearing him talking to himself, I don’t feel quite as silly for doing it myself.  I thought he was talking to me, but he just straight up admitted that he was talking to himself and does it all the time.  Hey, if it’s good enough for the UPS guy…the really good-looking, really nice UPS guy.  Oh yeah, and the really married and with the two real children UPS guy…wouldn’t you know?

Despite my burger conversation, I had a good day with my eating today.  Had six servings of fruits and veggies and stayed within my calorie range.  No exercise other than running around like a mad woman all day…now to get enough sleep. Oh wait, it’s already too late for that since I need to get up at 3 tomorrow morning.  “Are you going to go to bed soon?”  “Come on, leave me alone.  I’m old enough that I don’t need a bedtime.”  “Well, you’re definitely old enough…”

The long and winding road to fitness, day 158

Whew…I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.  We went to work this morning at 4…that’s right, 4 am!  Who does that?  Oh…I guess today that would be Chris and myself as well as Karen and Donna Mc.  We got a lot done before we opened, we kind of have to do all of this stuff before we open because, once we open, it’s a mad house.  If there really is trouble with the economy, you sure can’t tell it by how much people are spending at our store.

No exercise today, other than ladder climbing and a ton of walking.  And working for almost 12 hours, on my feet for most of that time.  It seems strange, but I’m looking forward to being able to actually work out again.  How pleasant it will be to be able to go outside and take a walk (yes, I realize there will likely be snow on the ground by the time all the madness is over, but still…), or climb on the exercise bike or turn on some music and dance.

My eating?  Oh gee, I did okay, but still ate some junk.  I did have a little bit of turkey and a little bit of ham, some veggies, no fruit, and no vitamins.  I need to at least take them to work with me and take them when I stop for a break.  I sure don’t want to get sick after all of this is over.  When I finish here, I’m going to grab a packet of the vitamins I take (it’s an assortment of vitamins and supplements, very convenient) and pour a mug of oj to take with me in the morning.

I’m just really, really tired…need sleep…lots of sleep…

The long and winding road to fitness, day 142

Image via Wikipedia

Brr…what a difference a couple of days can make in central Indiana.  We had temps in the 70s on Tuesday and snow this afternoon.  Granted, the snow didn’t amount to anything, but it still surprised me to see snow spitting  as I was driving home from work.  I always like snow at first, but after a couple of snows, I’m ready for it to be over.  I mean, it is beautiful and the world seems so quiet and peaceful under that first blanket of snow…but after that?  Come on, enough is enough.

It’s really the ice that I don’t like…you’re able to maneuver in the snow, but ice?  You just take your chances on that stuff.

It was awfully cold this morning back in the stockroom.  Of course, the fact that the doors to the loading dock stood open for about two hours while we were unloading the truck may have had a wee bit to do with that.  I worked back there with a jacket on for most of the morning.

I didn’t do any exercise today other than working the truck, lots of walking and lifting, as usual.  My eating was all right.  I had two fruits and three veggies so I did at least hit that goal.  Still ended up over on calories for the day though.  

My boss kept telling me he wants us to go in at 3 am tomorrow.  Now see, I know him well enough to know that he’s not going to be able to do that.  And then I’d be sitting in the parking lot for two hours waiting on him.  I suggested 5 am as a compromise.  Really, don’t you think 5 am is early enough anyhow?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 141

Ahh…a day off work…far and few between now…makes them much more special.  I really didn’t accomplish a lot today.  I did take several boxes of school supplies to the Boys and Girls Club here in town…I guess that’s kind of work related, but it was a very pleasant experience.

I pulled into the parking lot at Kroger, turned the car off, sat there for a few minutes, then started the car and drove home.  What’s up with that?  Well, honestly, I think I was about to buy some unhealthy food choices so I decided not to put myself in temptation’s way.  I don’t know if that’s good or not, but that’s what I did.

I did a little walking this morning while the weather was still nice.  Since then, the temps have been dropping, the wind has been whipping around, clouds rolled in…I guess fall is back.  I just heard the weather guy on tv say tomorrow’s temps will  only be in the 40s…brr…I think I’ve been spoiled by the nice weather we’ve been having.

But it could always be worse (and probably will be soon)…

My eating wasn’t spectacular today.  I ate only 4 servings of fruits and veggies, 1 shy of my minimum goal…maybe I’ll eat a small salad as I’m preparing my food to take to work tomorrow.  Nope, not maybe…I’m going to do it.

And I finally called my hair stylist this afternoon (sounds like I’m some kind of celebrity, doesn’t it?  My stylist.) and made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow.  It needs it…desparately.  Hopefully that’ll make me feel better after a long day at work that’s going to start much too early (like 5 am early).

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 140

Image by meerar via Flickr

Why?  Why do I let these stressful, crazy, hectic days get to me?  I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know I allowed it to happen today.  It was just nutty from the start today, so busy, not enough people working.  And I let myself give in to the stress.  I really wish I could be more like my boss, he loves when it’s crazy…gets his adrenaline pumping…and he’s always so cheerful (well, at least where most people can see him…I’m privy to some of his not so good moods, but customers never see him like that).  I can get a little snarky at times, most of the time with the people I work with…not nice, I know.  Once the closing manager got there and the framing manager got back from lunch, I decided I was going out for lunch just to get away for a few minutes.  Not the best choice as far as the old diet goes, but it did help me with my mood.  Of course, I could have stayed at work and eaten my healthier lunch and probably would have still had my mood improve just the same…I know I went too long without eating…come on (thumps head…twice) when will you learn to eat on a regular schedule? 

No exercise today to speak of…lots of walking around at work, but that’s it.  I have tomorrow off so I’m going to get in a couple of workouts, albeit short ones.  If it’s as nice as today was, I’m going to go out for a walk.  I couldn’t believe it was in the 70s today…on Nov 8!

I need to do a little salad prepping tomorrow too…tear and wash some lettuce, shred some more carrots.  I’ve been thinking about making a healthier Waldorf salad…we used to eat that a lot when I was a kid…of course, with full fat mayo…

And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be a day that sees me taking a little nap in the afternoon…and sleeping in in the morning…at least until 6 am!!  Long gone are the days of sleeping until noon…

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 138

So did everyone remember to set their clocks back?  A couple of our folks forgot, fortunately for us, in the fall all that does is get them to work an hour early…ha!

I spent most of my day today working on the ad set…never thought I’d get that thing completed.  Seems like every time I walked some where, I’d see something else that needed a sign.  Ooh…and we just might be lucky enough to get a corporate visitor tomorrow to watch us work the truck.  Watch us?  Are you kidding me?  Roll up your sleeves and help…hahaha….oh, I simply have to stop making myself laugh so much.

I had a good day with the eating today.  Six (or maybe just five and a half) servings of fruits and veggies…no junk…ate only what I took to work.  Yea!!  And my exercise was okay.  I did strength training and walked for 20 minutes before work, then did a ton of walking and ladder climbing over the course of the day at work.  Came home and did a little housework.  I’m thinking early to bed tonight since I’ve got to be at work at 5 am!

New neighbors moved in yesterday…apparently with small children..oh joy!!  At least I keep Spooky inside so she doesn’t have to worry about being traumatized by young children.  When someone new moves into your neighborhood, do you stop in and welcome them to the neighborhood…or does that only happen in the movies and on tv?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 136

Image by **tWo pInK pOSsuMs** via Flickr

A pretty good day today.  I guess getting a decent night’s sleep helps.  I managed to get in about 7 hours last night and am hoping to do the same tonight.  It was crazy busy with people stocking up on all of the discounted Halloween and fall merchandise.  And yes, people have already started their Christmas shopping.  Back in my pre-retail days, I always set the goal of finishing all of my shopping by Thanksgiving.  Now I’m lucky to finish it at all.  Gotta love those gift cards.  And really, I like getting gift cards myself.  Then I can just go out and buy whatever the heck I want…oh wait, I pretty much do that anyhow…well, within reason…no trips to Paris or fancy shmancy cars…but you know what I’m saying, right?  There really are advantages to living by yourself.

I stopped at Kroger this morning before work to stock up on healthy dinners for the freezer at work.  I didn’t even realize they were having one of their mega sale things where you get $5 off your purchase if you buy ten items.  So, yes, I bought 10 Healthy Choice meals for work.  The one I ate for lunch today was really quite tasty…lemon pepper fish with rice and broccoli…only 350 calories and decent as far as sodium goes.  And, you know, that’s something I would be unlikely to prepare for myself so it’s a real treat to be able to throw it in the microwave and have a hot meal ready in 5 minutes or so.

I ended the day under on calories again.  Wow!  Two days in a row.  What’s going on? I also did some walking and strength training this morning.  And lots of walking at work, lots of walking, lots of talking…it’ll be nice to have tomorrow off and be able to enjoy a little peace and quiet.  I can be quite the talker, but I also like some time to myself.  I NEED time to myself in order to function.  I’ve been that way my entire life…never minded alone time.  I know there are a lot of people who want to be surrounded by people every minute of every day, but not me.  Being able to get away from people gives me time to recharge and go out and do it all again.

I’ve got to run some errands in the morning.  Then I’ll come home and clean house and do some cooking.  And maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a few minutes to do a little extra writing.  How about you?  What’s in store for your weekend?

 

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 135

Image by jpstanley via Flickr

Thank goodness I made it through this day at work.  Crazy, hectic, busy, late truck, lots to do, in a bad mood…yes, me.  I finally realized it was because it was going on noon, I’d been up since around 2 am (couldn’t sleep), and I hadn’t eaten anything.  That always affects my mood.  You’d think I’d be adult enough to realize that and do something to avoid it (oh, like eat breakfast?), but no…I’m trying to get a lot done…quickly…so I don’t want to stop and take the time to eat.  And because of that, my mood gets worse and worse.  Until I finally give in and eat something.  That reminds me, I need to leave a little early in the morning to buy a few things to keep in the freezer at work.  I had planned to go out to Subway for lunch today, just to get out of the store for a while.  But I changed my mind since it was pouring down rain…blah!  So I settled for the only thing I still had in the freezer, a breakfast Lean Pocket…Subway would have been better…

And, to make my already bad mood worse, I found out that our six-day work weeks actually start this coming week instead of the following week like I thought.  So I don’t get the weekend off, I get Saturday off, then have to work Sunday and every weekend until Christmas…yippee!!

Anyhow, did some range of motion exercises this morning and that’s all I did for exercise other than all of the walking and lifting I did at work.  I don’t feel too bad, other than being awfully sleepy.  Seems like my bed time is coming earlier and earlier…but what can I do?  Gotta get me some sleep, please let me sleep tonight…please…

My eating was pretty good, not enough fruits and veggies today, only three servings.  But I’m definitely going to buy produce for some salads for work.  Easy way to up the veggie intake.  But I was under on calories today, so that’s a plus. (Or maybe a minus, at least on the scale)

Do you realize that Thanksgiving is fast approaching?  I actually have to work on Thanksgiving…boo!!  What are you going to do?

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