Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, everyone!
How's summer going for y'all out there in the wide open world?
For me, things have hit a bit of turbulence with my overall health. Let me just say first and foremost that I am fine. My blood pressure is a bit high (I confess, I have a rather obscene relationship with sodium and caffeine, though caffeine and I have had a discussion and we've agreed we'll visit a couple times a week as opposed to every day. Sodium and I ... We're in discussion-mode still. LOL), and I seem to have acquired a bit of edema lately, which a good time does not make for me especially when I am doing one of my favourite things ever: Walking! I love to walk. I love just getting outside and letting my mind wander to places like, "What if I were to put on different makeup today and see what sort of reaction I'd get if I went to the store?" Or "How about I revamp that English teacher story just a little and merge another WIP in with it... What would need to be done to make it work?" Stuff like that. Or making up names for the different birds and raccoons in my neighbourhood. For example, there's a cardinal that likes to show up out back. I've seen him a few times, he's really BRIGHT red, and he's quite stunning. But he's the only cardinal I've seen. At least, I think he's the only one, pretty sure it's the same little dude. I've decided to call him Henry-George of Birbistan.
I digress.
So, yes, I love to walk, I love to get up and move around, BUT I've got this bloody edema situation that's decided to show up and it's made me not only self-conscious about my age, but it's gotten me self-conscious about my WEIGHT. Check it: I'm going to be as transparent as I've ever been with you guys. As if the bp and edema reveal wasn't transparent enough, right? LOL Seriously, though, I've decided to do a MAJOR overhaul on some things. For one, I've given up soda about 4 1/2 months ago.. Mhm. That's right, I've not touched a soda in that long. Most of the time, no I don't miss it. Sometimes I'll see it on sale or I'll see it in the fridge (husband is a Mt Dew FIEND), and I'll think, "Oh, that sounds tasty right now," but then I remember, "Nope. Don't wanna back into that trap! I've come so far!" And I have, honestly. I've rediscovered hot tea (I have a salted caramel tea that I scored a box for 99c at Kroger [thank you, clearance sales!] and let me tell you it is SO good!), I have rediscovered water. Why did I rediscover water? Because where water goes, salt inevitably FOLLOWS. The more water you drink,, the more your body flushes out all that salt. Does this mean I'm going to be simultaneously slamming water and lime tortilla chips? Ha. No. I will occasionally indulge in a small bowl full of chips, but I'm going to have to cut WAY back on that, too. And that's probably going to be one of the HARDEST dietary changes I'll make, because I love lime tortilla chips! OMG SO GOOD....
So, yeah, here we are, I'm going on 42 years old and I have to remind myself as I swallow my water pill and my bp pill everyday, "Girlfriend, you are still a rockstar!" Hey, don't judge, alright, it gets me through the day!
Other things I've opted to give up: French fries. Now, anyone who knows me well enough, y'all now I loves me some Wendy's french fries. Especially dipped in a chocolate frosty? Oh, yes, please! Gimme gimme! But, I've decided no, they are going to be no longer consumed except as an extremely RARE treat. The last two times we went to Wendy's for lunch (and it's rare as it is when we go there, because I prefer to get stuff and bring it home and make it here, because it's cheaper that way!), I've ordered this chicken salad thing that's spicy chicken breast, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and Italian blend cheese. Now, I don't care much for Parmesan. Not gonna lie, it smells like urine to me. For you Parm enthusiasts out there reading this, my apologies, but I just can't do it. BLEH. My hat's off to those of you who can. Ha. The salad I've been ordering, though, OH MY IS IT GOOD. It fills me, it makes me feel full without being overwhelmed and all waddly. I have that and a medium drink (usually a Minute Maid Cherry Limeade), and that's my lunch. And it is nice and tasty. I LOVE salad, though. There's so many things you can do to a salad to make it your own. Like, I don't like salad dressing. Can't do the texture. I like raspberry vinegrette once in awhile, but I have to have a taste for it. I usually make mine with Romaine lettuce, spinach, grated carrots (because, carrots), some sunflower seeds (the kernels, although I LOVE sunflower seeds as a whole, anyway... OMG... Now I want some. LOL), tomatoes of course, apple chunks... Regardless what kind of apple. I love apples as a general rule. Give me a little cheese in there, not a lot, just enough to add a nice taste (especially some sharp or extra sharp cheddar... oh, yeah), and I am all over that! OH, and don't forget the crunchy chow mein noodles, too, on top. Yessssss....
So, here's the dealio. I'm going to start focusing on cutting way back on a lot of stuff, and just start eating more salad and fruit. The meat I'll be eating will be the OCCASIONAL red meat, as I'm not really a fan, anyway, although I do like it sometimes (again, I have to have a taste for it), I'm going to be focusing on drinking more water (because where water goes, salt goes, too... Oh, salt, you just wanna be with the cool kid, don't you.. ;) ), and I'm going to be boxing more. I've got a friend of mine giving me her Wii Fit stuff when she comes back to Ohio for a visit, so that'll be great, too. On days (like today) when it's too hot (like we've got an air quality advisory right now. Ohio, seriously, wtf.) I'll just hang out inside and play with my boxing game to get my heart going in a good way. Things are going to get better if I do this, because dag nabbit, I don't appreciate having to monitor my bp on the daily nor do I appreciate having to take a water pill at my age. Seriously.
My husband asked me how he can help me, and I love that he's willing to back me on this. I told him to stop tempting me to get dumb stuff that isn't healthy. Encourage me to get fruit and salad and healthy stuffs again. Not sure how in the world we managed to jump off that track, but we did, and now here I am and I'm going to face this down and beat it.
I've got a weight-loss tracker in my bujo. I've managed to lose a whopping three pounds so far. I encourage myself with this reality by saying, "Muscle weighs more than fat, and we are cutting a LOT of things outright, and we ARE backing off other things... You've got this, lady." But it's a matter of me BELIEVING it, that's the hard part! I know a big part of this issue is the water retention, and that's frustrating for me, but I'm trying to counteract that so I can see positive changes. Even if it's just a little bit, it's SOMETHING, right?
Oh, my life. I had a big rant in my rant section in my bujo about this last week, so it's at least ADDRESSED (my real feelings about this... that's privileged!), but it's now time for me to continue to slam my fist down and say, "Newp. This is gonna get dealt with NOW. It's now or never, yo."
There's a few things I have bookmarked on YouTube as well on easier things that are minimal impact but still yield really great results, so I'm going to dig into those, too, AND I'm able to access YouTube on my Wii, so that's helpful.
Right now, I'm having an almond chicken Asian Cuisine Lean Cuisine thing for lunch. It's got green beans, chicken, almonds, broccoli, rice, and these yellow things that I'm not sure what they are (I don't think they're peppers, this isn't a spicy dish), but the sauce is really good, and makes everything really tasty. I admit, microwaved green beans and broccoli feels a little weird on my tongue (again, it's a texture thing...), but it's tasty at least. :) I'm just going to focus on getting me back in order so I can do other things again like my writing nights with my ladies, and I think I'm going to take a break from fostering for awhile. I'm going to continue feeding outside kitties, but fostering is overwhelming right now, so that's going to be shelved for a bit. It's taking its toll on my cats, too, and I can't allow that.
More to come. There's likely going to be a lot of discussion about weight and exercise for awhile, but that's what I'm going to be focusing on for a bit until I can get things in order and under some semblance of control. :) Later today, I'm going to be plugging into my photography on here and getting that all organized and sorted, also. Gotta get the cosmetic stuff on this thing straightened up! I've been putting it off for over a year. High time I fixed that!
How's summer going for y'all out there in the wide open world?
For me, things have hit a bit of turbulence with my overall health. Let me just say first and foremost that I am fine. My blood pressure is a bit high (I confess, I have a rather obscene relationship with sodium and caffeine, though caffeine and I have had a discussion and we've agreed we'll visit a couple times a week as opposed to every day. Sodium and I ... We're in discussion-mode still. LOL), and I seem to have acquired a bit of edema lately, which a good time does not make for me especially when I am doing one of my favourite things ever: Walking! I love to walk. I love just getting outside and letting my mind wander to places like, "What if I were to put on different makeup today and see what sort of reaction I'd get if I went to the store?" Or "How about I revamp that English teacher story just a little and merge another WIP in with it... What would need to be done to make it work?" Stuff like that. Or making up names for the different birds and raccoons in my neighbourhood. For example, there's a cardinal that likes to show up out back. I've seen him a few times, he's really BRIGHT red, and he's quite stunning. But he's the only cardinal I've seen. At least, I think he's the only one, pretty sure it's the same little dude. I've decided to call him Henry-George of Birbistan.
I digress.
So, yes, I love to walk, I love to get up and move around, BUT I've got this bloody edema situation that's decided to show up and it's made me not only self-conscious about my age, but it's gotten me self-conscious about my WEIGHT. Check it: I'm going to be as transparent as I've ever been with you guys. As if the bp and edema reveal wasn't transparent enough, right? LOL Seriously, though, I've decided to do a MAJOR overhaul on some things. For one, I've given up soda about 4 1/2 months ago.. Mhm. That's right, I've not touched a soda in that long. Most of the time, no I don't miss it. Sometimes I'll see it on sale or I'll see it in the fridge (husband is a Mt Dew FIEND), and I'll think, "Oh, that sounds tasty right now," but then I remember, "Nope. Don't wanna back into that trap! I've come so far!" And I have, honestly. I've rediscovered hot tea (I have a salted caramel tea that I scored a box for 99c at Kroger [thank you, clearance sales!] and let me tell you it is SO good!), I have rediscovered water. Why did I rediscover water? Because where water goes, salt inevitably FOLLOWS. The more water you drink,, the more your body flushes out all that salt. Does this mean I'm going to be simultaneously slamming water and lime tortilla chips? Ha. No. I will occasionally indulge in a small bowl full of chips, but I'm going to have to cut WAY back on that, too. And that's probably going to be one of the HARDEST dietary changes I'll make, because I love lime tortilla chips! OMG SO GOOD....
So, yeah, here we are, I'm going on 42 years old and I have to remind myself as I swallow my water pill and my bp pill everyday, "Girlfriend, you are still a rockstar!" Hey, don't judge, alright, it gets me through the day!
Other things I've opted to give up: French fries. Now, anyone who knows me well enough, y'all now I loves me some Wendy's french fries. Especially dipped in a chocolate frosty? Oh, yes, please! Gimme gimme! But, I've decided no, they are going to be no longer consumed except as an extremely RARE treat. The last two times we went to Wendy's for lunch (and it's rare as it is when we go there, because I prefer to get stuff and bring it home and make it here, because it's cheaper that way!), I've ordered this chicken salad thing that's spicy chicken breast, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and Italian blend cheese. Now, I don't care much for Parmesan. Not gonna lie, it smells like urine to me. For you Parm enthusiasts out there reading this, my apologies, but I just can't do it. BLEH. My hat's off to those of you who can. Ha. The salad I've been ordering, though, OH MY IS IT GOOD. It fills me, it makes me feel full without being overwhelmed and all waddly. I have that and a medium drink (usually a Minute Maid Cherry Limeade), and that's my lunch. And it is nice and tasty. I LOVE salad, though. There's so many things you can do to a salad to make it your own. Like, I don't like salad dressing. Can't do the texture. I like raspberry vinegrette once in awhile, but I have to have a taste for it. I usually make mine with Romaine lettuce, spinach, grated carrots (because, carrots), some sunflower seeds (the kernels, although I LOVE sunflower seeds as a whole, anyway... OMG... Now I want some. LOL), tomatoes of course, apple chunks... Regardless what kind of apple. I love apples as a general rule. Give me a little cheese in there, not a lot, just enough to add a nice taste (especially some sharp or extra sharp cheddar... oh, yeah), and I am all over that! OH, and don't forget the crunchy chow mein noodles, too, on top. Yessssss....
So, here's the dealio. I'm going to start focusing on cutting way back on a lot of stuff, and just start eating more salad and fruit. The meat I'll be eating will be the OCCASIONAL red meat, as I'm not really a fan, anyway, although I do like it sometimes (again, I have to have a taste for it), I'm going to be focusing on drinking more water (because where water goes, salt goes, too... Oh, salt, you just wanna be with the cool kid, don't you.. ;) ), and I'm going to be boxing more. I've got a friend of mine giving me her Wii Fit stuff when she comes back to Ohio for a visit, so that'll be great, too. On days (like today) when it's too hot (like we've got an air quality advisory right now. Ohio, seriously, wtf.) I'll just hang out inside and play with my boxing game to get my heart going in a good way. Things are going to get better if I do this, because dag nabbit, I don't appreciate having to monitor my bp on the daily nor do I appreciate having to take a water pill at my age. Seriously.
My husband asked me how he can help me, and I love that he's willing to back me on this. I told him to stop tempting me to get dumb stuff that isn't healthy. Encourage me to get fruit and salad and healthy stuffs again. Not sure how in the world we managed to jump off that track, but we did, and now here I am and I'm going to face this down and beat it.
I've got a weight-loss tracker in my bujo. I've managed to lose a whopping three pounds so far. I encourage myself with this reality by saying, "Muscle weighs more than fat, and we are cutting a LOT of things outright, and we ARE backing off other things... You've got this, lady." But it's a matter of me BELIEVING it, that's the hard part! I know a big part of this issue is the water retention, and that's frustrating for me, but I'm trying to counteract that so I can see positive changes. Even if it's just a little bit, it's SOMETHING, right?
Oh, my life. I had a big rant in my rant section in my bujo about this last week, so it's at least ADDRESSED (my real feelings about this... that's privileged!), but it's now time for me to continue to slam my fist down and say, "Newp. This is gonna get dealt with NOW. It's now or never, yo."
There's a few things I have bookmarked on YouTube as well on easier things that are minimal impact but still yield really great results, so I'm going to dig into those, too, AND I'm able to access YouTube on my Wii, so that's helpful.
Right now, I'm having an almond chicken Asian Cuisine Lean Cuisine thing for lunch. It's got green beans, chicken, almonds, broccoli, rice, and these yellow things that I'm not sure what they are (I don't think they're peppers, this isn't a spicy dish), but the sauce is really good, and makes everything really tasty. I admit, microwaved green beans and broccoli feels a little weird on my tongue (again, it's a texture thing...), but it's tasty at least. :) I'm just going to focus on getting me back in order so I can do other things again like my writing nights with my ladies, and I think I'm going to take a break from fostering for awhile. I'm going to continue feeding outside kitties, but fostering is overwhelming right now, so that's going to be shelved for a bit. It's taking its toll on my cats, too, and I can't allow that.
More to come. There's likely going to be a lot of discussion about weight and exercise for awhile, but that's what I'm going to be focusing on for a bit until I can get things in order and under some semblance of control. :) Later today, I'm going to be plugging into my photography on here and getting that all organized and sorted, also. Gotta get the cosmetic stuff on this thing straightened up! I've been putting it off for over a year. High time I fixed that!