A Time For Everything

 

We're coming up to the end of week three on the carb cycling / workout-intensity cycling program we've been on...

For the most part, it's been good. I've lost a few pounds, although I've seemed to reach a minor plateau.

We altered the schedule slightly after the first week to accommodate DH standing networking lunch so he can enjoy a few more things on the menu at the restaurant the group meets at.

And although I wasn't looking forward to the prospect at the outset of this plan, I am enjoying cooking again. This whole thing has had the added benefit of helping me keep up with #3 (exercise 3x per week) and achieve #10 (cook/eat healthy) on the fresh start goals list.

There have been a couple of (very) minor challenges.

One is to balance the types of protein we're ingesting. So when I'm menu planning--because, yes, I have to do that now--I have make sure it's not all red meat/beef. It's too easy to do that. Also DH likes his tacos two to three times a week, so that means just about everything else has to be pork, chicken, or fish.

Another is to balance the menu so we're not having the same protein for lunch and dinner...

A third--not so much a challenge as a streamlining process--is to plan meals that I can use up in later meals or freeze for later weeks. Chili, for example. A batch of chili is very high carb and contains red meat. Way more of both than we can consume in a week. Luckily it freezes well so I can freeze leftovers for later in the month.

And lastly, for me specifically, has been finding high intensity workouts with all low impacts on the body. My hips and knees are not quite ready for that yet. And I'm not convinced I need high impact at all either. I've been gathering various specific exercises from different videos and creating my own conglomeration of exercises. Then I can mix and match for my two high intensity days and also work up from five minutes to ten to, maybe, fifteen, down the road.

This plan has definitely kept my body on its toes, though. I've had bouts of extreme exhaustion just come upon me at certain times of day when I shouldn't feel like that. On all days too, not just the high intensity workout day. I might not be getting enough calories or I might need to shift my fasting window so I begin consuming calories sooner. It'll require some monitoring and note taking to pinpoint what's causing that.

Have a great weekend!

 

 

Image courtesy of IMGBIN.

As the title says...it's a new month and it's a new quarter, and it's time to get moving. Literally and figuratively. :0)

Physical therapy for my hip is just about complete--one more PT appointment then I'm on my own. "PT" at home needs to continue until I'm dead. PT has been primarily yoga-type exercises, so no problem.

DH and I have started a new exercise / eating plan known as carb cycling. Instead of going full throttle on Keto, you cycle through days with higher and lower amounts of healthy carbs to coincide with higher and lower intensities of workouts. A quick Google search will bring up a bunch of articles if you're interested.

Carb cycling seemed like a good next step in our constantly morphing plan for weight loss and good health. DH was plateauing on Keto. He researched why and found not only the answer but a solution in carb cycling. We'll see how it goes.

* * * * *

It's also finally spring and we should have tolerable weather, at least, going forward. We've hit that part of the weather cycle where it's not warm and it's not hot, but because it's spring, there's a lot of moisture in the air and everything can get sticky.

That also means that my house partners will want to run the AC more...which I get, but there's a delicate balance between not sticky and too cold in the house for this time of year.

Conversely, there's been lovely mornings with the windows open and the breeze flows in over the bed and it's delightful and delicious to snuggle with Karma.

* * * * *

Getting physical books that look professional is a chore. Every time I made a change in the Kindle Direct Publishing site, I had to wait three days for the proof copy. And then when I finally got everything situated and I hit the official "go live" button, the book had to go to review which was supposed to take up to 72 hours. Luckily for me, each book took less that 48. So now I'm waiting on the delivery of my first ever physical books! They should arrive between the 8th and 10th--two different shipments, one for each book.

That's cutting it a bit close, since my author event is the 15th. There's nothing to do in regards to books but hope and pray. Now I can focus on setting up my table. Finding my swag. Prepping for panel discussions or whatever programming I'll be tasked with. I've reached out to the librarian for questions in advance so I can prep for those in advance. I'm not good at off the cuff kinds of things.

And in preparation for selling physical books...I finally got around to setting up a method for accepting credit cards. For things like this, I definitely appreciate technology. All I have to do is plug the card reader into my phone, open the app, ring up the sale, and swipe. Easy peasy. I hope. I should probably do a test sale, huh?

* * * * *

Image courtesy of DepositPhotos.

I've started yet another fiction book. I think I'm gonna blow right by my purported six books. Not that I mind. My current title in progress...

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill originally published in 1937.

I'm only a few chapters in, but it's very motivating so far.

What I find truly amazing--and I believe it's the universe at work here--is that it echoes other messages I've received from books and one of my YouTubers. So certain tenets are being reiterated. And I have to believe that that's my Angel Crew reinforcing the message they have for me and telling me to get after it.

I'm gettin', I'm gettin'...

* * * * *

And last but not least, while my Dallas Stars haven't officially clinched a spot in the playoffs, it's been a given for months that they're gonna make it...

Thank goodness for the loser point, otherwise we'd be nowhere near the playoffs according to one of my pod casters. :0)

* * * * *

Have a great week!

 

 

 

In my 01/16 Fresh Start Goals post, I left three four of my goals a bit undone, so for accountability's sake I've come back to document that I did as I said I was going to do...

...which was to a) get an exercise regimen in place, b) get my treasurer's tasks identified and scheduled for each month, and c) have a workable housekeeping plan in place.

Here's how those goals are going to happen:

A) First of all, since Mom died, I've worked on getting back to my daily step counts. Every hour at the 50-minute mark, barring being in a meeting or at an event where getting steps at that point isn't feasible, I dutifully get up and get my steps in. Over the past several months, I've worked at upping the minimum average daily step goal.

Surprisingly, my phone tells me I've been averaging 5K a month since August. June and July were mid-4K, but since then I've been doing well. For some reason, I thought I was still cruising along just under 5K, but that doesn't appear to be the case. So 'well done' me. I don't have any desire to up that much further at this point....

...because getting steps in the manner in which I get them doesn't seem to burn an appreciable amount of calories. The doing of it mainly keeps me from getting stiff while I sit at my desk and work all day. Which is no small thing for me right now.

I'd been trying for weeks at the end of 2022 to get back to using the elliptical/recumbent bike, but I just couldn't seem to make it happen. Also it's very tedious, so there's just no enticement there. I might need to tie it to some sort of tv/video consumption activity. You know, pedal while watching something. Problem is, I don't tend to watch stuff on a daily basis.

I've also been wanting to get back to doing yoga. The problem there is also time. But I found a chair yoga plan for seniors. No, I'm not officially a senior, but these exercises will take all of ten minutes and get me started. I can upgrade in a month or two.

So I've been doing chair yoga at the end of the work day before I leave my desk. The rotation is three days exercise, one day rest. I'll definitely have to make a point of doing these on the weekend even though I may not be at my desk.

So steps, chair yoga, and I'm thinking about walking Rascal daily. He could use it, he would enjoy it, and I think I'd enjoy it too. But...time...we'll see.

B) After taking some time to think about the various treasurer tasks as well as pulling out the "duties by month" document I have, I outlined a schedule and noted it in my planner. I'm in my planner every day / week, so I should be good to go.

C) Finding a workable housekeeping plan was a challenge. And honestly I didn't really. (YET) But I did start noting chores in my housekeeping planner. For the past couple of Sundays, I've looked at the week ahead and, keeping in mind the rooms I want to focus on, as well as rooms that need constant focus (baths & kitchen), I listed tasks to accomplish each day.

So far, it's working pretty good. If I see something else that I want to do, I just leave myself a note in the planner and then, when I schedule for the next week, I pencil it in. I should probably keep a master list of random tasks like cleaning the oven. Is that a monthly task? Quarterly? Annual? Even annual would be better than not-at-all, eh? lol

And--I forgot to mention above, but remembered along the way...

D) Watching & reading all that "writers education" I paid for or stored up. I forgot that until I re-read my big goals post from a couple of weeks ago when finalizing this post. >face palm< I've blocked some time on Sunday mornings after grocery shopping for this. I need an hour off my feet after that big event, so it's a good time.

I'm not sure if this is the final plan for all of the above, but it's a start, and sometimes getting started is the hardest part. As I keep on, I can tweak and alter how to navigate things based on results. Is something working? Is it not? How could it work better? Become a bit more efficient? Would it make more sense do things that way instead of this way? Etc... Etc... Etc...

So there we go. More plans, more rules, more parameters. We'll see how these tasks pan out.

Here's to a great week. Catch you on Thursday.

 

As of the last time I stepped on the scale, a week or so ago, I've gained ten pounds.

Because of hockey, I have made bad food choices. I own that.

I have two more in-person games. Tonight and a day to be determined. There may be more official watching parties in my future, but that'll be it for live games. I looked up pricing for the final round--$1K minimum per seat. Yeah, I don't have that.

So it'll be watching parties one way or another for the rest of the playoffs...

I'll be making better food choices going forward, but I also need to get back to exercising even if it's just the old treadmill at home three times a day.

It shouldn't take me terribly long to lose the weight...the inches are another matter. The question becomes how important to me are those inches because it's going to take me going to the next level to make better progress than the last time. So something to ponder.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend...

Catch you Wednesday. 
 

I've given up the protein bars I'd been eating and also bananas.

The protein shakes have few or no carbs--why do the bars have 18 to 20?? Ugh.

I've been eating bananas with the protein shakes, chocolate or caramel, and it's quite a delicious combo. Saturday, the banana was a tick to soft for eating so I blended it into the shake and whoa!! that was delicious.

A shame I've decided to switch fruits. On the other hand, berries have the fewest carbs of all fruits, so I bought blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries this weekend. It turns out that neither blackberries nor raspberries mixes quite as well with a caramel flavored shake as the bananas, so I'll have to consume separately, which isn't a big deal.

My first week back at the gym went better than I expected. I wasn't as sore as anticipated past the first day, but I didn't jump back in at all the same weight levels that I was at when I quit, not did I run through the full routine. I'm working my way back to that slowly.

The expending of energy has definitely made me sleep hard. It was relatively easy to get back into the early-to-bed routine--but then again, I'm not really a night owl and never stayed up more than and hour or hour and a half later, so... >>shrugs<<

I had a productive weekend and hope yours was good or enjoyable--whatever you needed it to be.

The dog days of summer have arrived here in Texas--stay cool and stay hydrated.

Now that I've reached a point in time (good weather, after a writers group meeting), it's time to get back on the wagons I fell off of. Those wagons are as follows:

a) the exercise wagon
b) the healthy eating wagon
c) the writing/publishing wagon
d) the prepping for my October writers conference

In addition to that, there are activities at work that require my participation, so that's a new wagon maybe?

a) I'm still not in the mood to hit the gym again really, so the home treadmill will have to suffice for calorie burnage. The plan for now is @ 26 minutes in the morning and in the evening to burn a total of 320 calories a day. That's on top of general daily calorie consumption and my thrice weekly walks to the post office while working from the office.

b) I purged the house last week of anything filled with sugar or carbs that is remotely tempting to me--by eating it. (I didn't get to grocery shop last week, so it was also eat or starve. I opted not to starve.) That included jelly beans, tortillas (despite being the carb-light variety), yogurt (except I left one at the office--darn, I'll have to eat it), and any remaining dried fruits. It's back to veggies and protein for a week or two until the jiggly puff of a belly I'm sporting recedes. Then we'll see.

c) This is going to be the toughest wagon to get back on. I'm not feeling the words. And while I'm not looking to be a best seller on any list and support myself, I still owe any new and/or loyal readers the next book at some point (sooner rather than later) and I do want to finish the series. Also a new book will keep the royalties steady--which I need for...

d) Conference expenses. I've registered and bought a ticket, but I'll need funds to pay for the hotel and food come October. In the meantime, I need to buy swag and order physical books. Swag is cheaper, but physical books are more important. One conundrum is which books do I get in physical copy and how many of each. I have six books as of now, hopefully seven by the summer.

e) DH aka Bossman is trying to better the company and take it to the next level, so we're reading a book, chapter by chapter and discussing it. This particular book also has audio to go with it, so I've got to find time to get started on the audio and make sure I'm prepared to discuss Ch. 2 today...


It's time shake off the lazies and get motivated.

Have a great week...

I got a FitBit for my annivesary... DH got one several months ago and he's really benefited from it. I don't really need something to encourage me to get up and move, etc, but the Charge 2 has some other functions and features that I thought would be helpful to track. Things like resting heart rate, fat burning, sleep quality. I've sort of plateaued in terms of motivation and I'm hoping this device will get me revved up and ready to step it back up again.

Anyone else using a Fitbit or similar device for health and wellness purposes?

Mid-June to mid-July is always a hectic time around here (pre-fireworks, fireworks, post-fireworks) and my routines get out of whack for a variety of reasons.

I haven't written in a couple of weeks, I've slacked off the exercise, and rarely count calories to the exact number. That is to say, I know mostly how many I'm consuming since I tend to eat relatively the same thing every day. Surprisingly I have only gained maybe 2 or 3 pounds. I thought it would have been more...

But now that life has finally settled down, it's time to get back on track!

My goal is to write a minimum of 250 words/1 page a day for at least a week. We'll see how how that goes and increase the number if I feel like I'm ready for more.

I joined a gym last week. The goal is to go at least twice a week, but shooting for three, and walk on the home treadmill most other days depending on how I feel. I do listen to my body, so there will be no going overboard. My intent as I head toward 50 (two years away) is to tone what I have and increase my flexibility and stamina. I also want to take some ballet classes next year. :)

Along with the gym thing, I will get back to counting calories.

It's time to reach that 120lb. goal once and for all. :)

And I'll have my weekends back. It seems like there's always something going on either Saturdays or Sundays and I haven't had a good solid weekend to work around the yard.

Most of what I'm doing are bite size pieces of larges projects--filling a bag or two or three of yard waste rather than twenty, weed whacking but not mowing, killing weeds here and there. But there's so much more to be done and by the time I have a full weekend, it'll be real summer and real hot.

Of course, despite my watching what I eat, my morning stint on the treadmill, and daily calisthenics, I proved yesterday, I'm still woefully out of shape. Granted it was pretty warm Sunday morning as I was raking and I was up till almost 1am Saturday night, but I ended up taking an hour and half nap yesterday afternoon and I still felt rather draggy.

I pushed through the lethargy to get laundry done as well getting my dinners partially pre-cooked and some minor housework accomplished. I was ready to hit the sack by nine p.m. So I did...

How was your weekend??