Lessons LearnedI was gone for 9 nights - a graduation trip to Walt Disney World for my daughter and her boyfriend. I learned a lot on this trip. 1. Breaks in routine completely mess me up - mentally, physically and spiritually. I need to figure out how to continue with my goals when my routine changes. 2. The entire trip I felt self-conscious in my body. I was convinced that I had gained at least 5 pounds within the first 2 days. I need to intentionally work on my self concept. 3. I don't feel healthy. I'm tired, bloated and unmotivated. I will start journaling to track this and figure out what is causing it. 4. I don't want to feel this way any longer. I want to feel beautiful, sexy, energetic and alive. Moving ForwardI'm home now, and I'm committed to change. I have a head cold from the trip, but I'm going to push through and make the changes I need to make - starting TODAY. Honestly, I have felt this way for years and have had SO MANY false starts. I am reminding myself that now I have a dietician and health coach to help me through it. So, what does this week look like for me? GOALS FOR WEEK 6: 1. Primarily plant-based eating - I'm using the Forks over Knives meal planning site to plan some meals and will track plant food diversity. 2. Back to strength training 3x/week, yoga 2x/week, hiking 2x/week and nightly walks. 3. Lots of water. 4. Evening routine - stretch, journal and read. No more facebook reels. 5. One self care action during each day. Results UpdateI'm not sure if I achieved my 30 plant-diversity goal this week. My weight is back where I started at 183.5.
0 Comments
The most important lesson I have learned over the past 2 weeks is that I need to prepare for, be present in and respond appropriately to changes in my routine. The week of 3/3-3/9 was filled with appointments and grocery shopping, and getting ready for this journey. My week was pretty normal and I kept my routines. Then I went to Chicago for the weekend with my daughter. It was a good weekend, but it threw me off a bit. We came home Sunday and started the day with donuts. I can't remember the last time I had donuts. When we arrived home, my husband made salad and split pea soup, and it was so good. It's a recipe from my undergraduate days - a little bookstore cafe in Bellingham, Washington called the Colophon Cafe. I used to love it when we lived there. While it did start my week off in a great way, the rest of it went to shit - in some ways. ResultsHonestly, the best part of the last 2 weeks is that I have started not to care about the results I see on the scale. I gained a couple of pounds after Chicago, but I think it's going down a bit. I did not even weigh myself this morning. I stopped tracking everything on MyNet Diary. I just feel a bit freed from all of that crap. I think because my biggest win was this: I know there were more, but I forgot to check them. Just by eating tons of plant food, my body feels better (I'm feeling better in it) and my weight just isn't as important to me. Believe me, I don't understand this either, but I'll take it. So, no numbers this week! I finished the book Fiber Fueled too. It enforces the plant diversity goal and gives you a lot of reasons to do it. I'm really feeling the best I have in months (years?). The other thing I'm doing is taking a prebiotic called Sunfiber GI. It was recommended by my dietician. It's making me pretty gassy, but not bloated. Still, hoping that my body gets used to it. The biggest disappointment from the week is my lack of exercise. I did not workout any morning. I had one of the most stressful weeks at work that I have ever had, and our dog had some vaccines and was up a few nights. So, I was not getting the rest or exercise I needed. I really love the effects of working out each morning. It helps me start the day with a good attitude and a feeling of accomplishment. I was able to hike 5.5 miles yesterday, so at least I had some movement incorporated into the week. The Next 2 WeeksI have 2 crazy weeks coming up. Tomorrow, my husband and daughter head to Florida to spend time with my mother-inlaw. Her husband passed away last week. I fly down on Thursday and will spend a day with her and then the three of us will meet my daughter's boyfriend at Disney.
So, I have one week without my husband to take care of the animals, dinners, etc. and one week in Disney. Luckily, I have a coaching call tomorrow with my health coach to come up with a strategy on how to adjust to a break in routine (a major one!). My plan this week (while I'm home) is to: Workout Monday - Thursday, even if it's light yoga. Get my (at least) 30 diversified plants in Only eat out 1-2x (including lunch and dinner) My plan for next week (pending advice from my coach): Eat mostly plant based at Disney You know that feeling when you've hiked up a big hill, you are out of breath and your muscles ache? You finally reach the top and there it is - the view.
That is how I feel today. For the last several years I have been utterly flabbergasted. My weight kept creeping up despite me eating well and being active. My intestinal issues also got worse. Heartburn, stomach pain and discomfort and many other lower intestinal issues I won't document here! All of this and a doctor who would not listen to me has led me to this point. I finally understand that we all must be advocates for our own health. I've heard this before, but I now truly believe it. I just switched doctors after years of seeing the same person. She referred me to a lifestyle medicine clinic and I'm working with my dream team. Yesterday I met with a gut health dietician. After our call, so many lights came on in my brain and dots were connected. I realized (through her questions and comments) that all of my issues really started after a trip to Mexico where I came back and had severe stomach pain. I had an upper scope and they found inflammation, but nothing else. So, nothing was done. I took an anti-microbial I found on amazon, and the pain went away. I thought it was done. So, I'm now working through the book Fiber Fueled and increasing the diversity in my diet. I do eat a lot of fruit and veg, but not varied plant resources. I eat the same stuff all of the time. I'll document all of this, but oh my goodness. I feel like I'm back at Independence Pass (pictured above and the highest point in Colorado) looking over these mountains and feeling like I could fly. FINALLY, I have hope and I'm so inspired to take the first leap. So grateful for this chain of events! Weight ResultsThe first full week is in the books. I have lost some weight: -1.2 lbs. since last Sunday -3.2 lbs. since the beginning (2/21/2024) I use Happy Scale to not get weird about weighing myself every day. It shows trends and gives small goals to shoot for. Here's my dashboard. Other ResultsMy workouts seem more intentional, and I like that. This week, I completed my 3 strength training workouts (I'm doing Chalean Extreme on the Bodi channel) and I'm up to 12 pound weights for lower body exercises. I started using 5-8lb weights and now I'm up to 10-12lb weights. I did not workout Friday, but I've been double active on the weekends. One of my biggest wins is that I'm starting to feel a shift in my perspective. I'm such an all-or-nothing person. I am really trying to let that go. I'm pushing myself to have a day with some flexibility (I had some amazing baklava from a local Mediterranean grocery store yesterday!). Obstacles & Lessons LearnedI enjoy eating nutrient-dense food, but I also have a sweet tooth. This obstacle was also a win (see above) - seeing the baklava yesterday and putting it in my cart was a challenge. I had some thoughts about "right" and "wrong" foods. I really tried to dive into those thoughts. It's not wrong that I ate the baklava. It was AMAZING, and I enjoyed every bite. Allowing myself to think this through really helped. LESSONS LEARNED: Don't feel bad about occasional indulgences. I'm doing so many things to get a nutrient-dense diet. These amazing treats are fun and bring joy to life. We also had date night last night - a bourbon festival in our town. I had a designated driver ticket and organized going for my husband. We didn't eat dinner, because we were going to eat at the food trucks at the venue. Once we got there, they didn't sound good. But, when we left at 9:30 we were pretty hungry, so we drove through Taco Bell. These things will happen. I ordered a Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme and thoroughly enjoyed it. LESSONS LEARNED: I'm going to eat out and have events like this. Looking ahead and anticipating them is key. I had a stomach issue this week too. I'm not sure if it was from popcorn the night before (I think it might have been, because I had it 2 nights in a row), but I became pretty ill after eating my breakfast the next morning. Nothing sounded good. I ate pretty well that day but my diet was definitely lacking vegetables. Sometimes they cause a lot of intestinal issues. LESSONS LEARNED: Something in my gut is not right! Need to figure it out. WinsThere are so many wins. I am eating so much better, I can feel my bloodwork numbers going down. Ha. I do feel better for the most part. I really like seeing the number on the scale go down, but I understand it's much bigger than that. This WeekI have a meeting with a dietician/nutritionist this week. She is an expert in gut health, so I'm looking forward to that. I am also a bit nervous about it, because I don't want to be on a restrictive diet.
I would love to get to a place where I'm eating so well that I don't need to track things. For now, it's good data to compare with results (both scale and bloodwork numbers). I have a day at a conference this week and I am leaving for Chicago on Friday morning. So many restaurants are planned for my fun theater weekend. My strategy is to look ahead at the menus and have an idea of what I want to order going in. I'm also hoping to be flexible and change the plan if it does not feel right. No scale this weekend, so my last weigh-in will be Friday morning. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |
Proudly powered by Weebly