It's Been Awhile

   Wow!  It has been awhile!  Why do I even have a blog?  With pinterest, facebook, emails, etc., I seldom make time to blog at all... that includes post on my blog, or read anyone else's blog.  I liked it when I first began blogging, and there was not so much to read.  So much has happened since my last blog post in November.  
   My mother's health continued to decline.. she soon was not walking, then not going to dine with her friends in her independent living home, quitting playing her games, and finally quitting eating at all.  It was a time of stress in my life.  I ate junk food:  I quit exercising;  I slept poorly; and I stressed!  There was mental and emotional stress as well as what I was doing to my body by stressing my adrenals.  She passed away on January 11th.  Then I was going.. going... going.. because I finally could!!  Taking trips and meeting up with friends!  Beginning and working and finishing old and new projects!  I was doing anything except take time and experience my grief.  Well, here I am almost 8 months later, and I am now trying to reverse some of the damage I incurred.  I began about 3 weeks ago drinking my water.. half my body weight in ounces which is a lot!   I also began my walking routine of trying to walk six days a week.  I am working out in the gym two days a week.  I am getting better with my eating and drinking ( wine and sodas), and I am feeling better. 
    So, I say all this in this blog as I do in person... if you are a caretaker, take care of yourself!!  I know I can tell you that, and you may ignore it just like I did.  I usually do go in fast motion, and I had many people express their concern about me telling me to slow down.  Finally, my health stopped me.  I got a flu or viral infection which included fever for five days. And oh my gosh.. the aches and pains I had.   My headache lasted for about a week.  And the cough lingered for six weeks.  I still cough sometimes.  I am finally knowing that I am on the mend by doing all of the above.  So all you caretakers out there... do as I say, and not as I did!!

Who knew I could write poetry?

So, last night I was at our hunting camp, and all of a sudden I felt compelled to write a poem.  I have not written any kind of rhyme or poetry since I was very young.  As a matter of fact, I have never been a big fan of poetry until about 10 years ago when I read Beth Moore's book of poetry called "Things Pondered".  I found that book last week at a flea market.  Maybe it was that, maybe it was the Holy Spirit,...I don't know.   Maybe it was because recently I have spoken to two people who only "hoped" they were going to Heaven.  My poem does not even have a title..but here goes:

It's the end of your life
It's time to go
You stand at the gate
With no feeling of woe.

It's Jesus you see
Is it yes or no?
Why should you enter?
He wants to know.

I went to church
I prayed each day
I did good deeds
So what do you say?

He asks me a question
What about me?
Did you declare me your Saviour?
Salvation is free.

Did you just want to feel good?
Or was I Lord of your life?
Did you know my victory?
Or only life's strife.

If you died to self
And confessed your sin
Then no need to worry
You can come in.

What a glorious day
When you see his face
No sorrow or tears
You finished the race.

Turning 60 and Getting Back on Track

How I wish I could always be consistent at what I set out to do!  I planned to keep my food diary on my fitness pal; I planned to write on my blog everyday; and I planned to exercise everyday.  Bam!!  Life comes at me and throws me off!  I am not giving excuses, just saying where I fail.  So here I am a month after writing my last blog post.  And a very busy month it has been!!

   My birthday was earlier in this month, and it was my BIG birthday!!  I was taken out to eat by friends and family several times.  But the biggie was a surprise birthday party that was given by my mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, and sister.  My sister lives out of state, so it was quite a surprise to see her.  I also had college friends from out of town, my unome friends (high school friends), and then close friends who live in town for the party.  And then that evening my daughter orchestrated a great dinner by delegating responsibilities to my husband, sons, mother, sister, and daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law.  We had a great time!!  But all that running around going here and there and OVEREATING and eating the WRONG things totally got me off track.

    So today I am getting back on track!  My goals right now are:

1.  Drink more water

2.  No more sodas

3.  Eat less fat

4.  Eat NO sugar

5.  Eat more vegetables and fruit

6.  Walk each day

7.  Eat more mindfully

So, I am not going to say that my diet has been awful.  It is just with all the going out to eat, I have eaten desserts and more carbohydrates than I normally would.  My weight has only crept back up a few pounds, but that is not going to get me to my push goal- remember-to lose 35 lbs.  I also have continued to do my workouts with Chalean Extreme, although they are hit and miss.  Today I am
sooooooo sore from the last two days of working out.  

   I just know that 60 years old means I am getting closer to the day when I will not be very active.  I want to inhibit that as best I can.  So I have to say to myself that all of the above is going to make me a more fit, healthier, better looking active person.  I know that I will have my ups and downs, my inconsistencies, my setbacks as well as my accomplishments... but I will not give up!  I will work on all of this today!!  And I will not worry about tomorrow, but work on today!!

It's Been 10 Days

  I see that it has been 10 days since I last wrote on my blog... hmmm.. that means I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I said before that I find it boring to just list my calories, fats, carbs, and protein intake.  I have recently been kind of "hit and miss" with my food diary recordings.  My biggest problem seems to be going out to eat.  It is like if I go out and cannot record accurately my meal, then I just forget it!!  This is not good.  And... after the first week when I lost 6 lbs., I hit a roadblock.. I mean a total standstill!!  So what does that mean?  Well, I need to look at my recordings and see where I seem to be failing.  I can say that I am eating too much FAT!  Even though I have kept the carbs low, the fats are in the red each day.  That is what is good about a food diary.  If you are honest in your recordings, then you will see where you are missing the mark.  I have to give myself a higher score on my exercise though.  I am either walking, or doing Chalean Extreme.  My muscles have been very sore from the squats and lunges.  And my shoulders have been sore too.  I really do love to lift weights.  And I really like these videos. But even saying that, I still have a problem getting started.  Sometimes my day is very busy, and then late in the day, I do not want to do it.  I just need to remind myself to keep my eye on that finish line and how I want to finish.  This gal is not giving up!!

Not Being Consistent

Total lbs. lost   -6 (stayed the same)

Okay... remember my posts about me not being consistent??? Well... I still have that problem!  Life just interrupts me on my life choices of what I eat and how I move.  Last week started off with me having a stomach virus- I will spare you the details other than to say that I with the stomach problems I have aches and fever also.  Then this past week I was at a beautiful resort area with great friends and we indulged in food and drink.  I did not go cah-ray-zee... but still did not stay in bounds.  And now I have either allergies or a cold and cough or something!!  Just still not up to feeling great!  But today I am logging my food in my fitness pal, so I will record that tomorrow.  I also just don't feel a need to post each and every day my total calories unless I include something a little more interesting than statistics.  I actually did get in a little exercise while I was gone.. I walked about 2 miles on Saturday.

Grandchildren and Getting Off Track

Weight loss - stayed the same -6 lbs.

  Well, you can see there are posts missing from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  My grandchildren (ages 22 months and almost 5 years) came to visit on Friday.  I spent Friday preparing for their visit, and Sunday recuperating.  I realize I am just making excuses for not keeping my journal with my fitness pal these last three days.  I see that I am going to have to be more disciplined when my life is not the normal routine.  So... another thing I learned... jot it down so you can remember it all later.
   I did not get off track too badly while they were here.  I did have a piece of pizza.  But it was one piece.  I added lots of vegetables to a pepperoni pizza- onions, red bell pepper, and chopped black olives.  I had a salad with it, so I did not need more than one piece.  I also resisted the chocolate ice cream that my husband bought for himself... I mean them.  I did, however, skip my water and drank Diet Coke.  So today.. I do not feel good.  My diet has certainly made me feel bad with an upset stomach.  Today I plan to get back on track.  My main thing is that I did not review my PUSH goal or my weekly goals... I was too absorbed with their needs.  It was putting out one fire after another.  Did I mention the 22 month old is a boy???? No sooner did I get something put up then it was something else that was dug out.  And I had to watch him closely because my house is not baby-proofed.  I loved every minute of it though!  My granddaughter is the sweetest little girl.  I am so blessed with these children.
   So today I am going to try to get some exercise in...plan my meals for the week, and stay on track!
 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Being Accountable

Tuesday totals
Calories-1439-208 Exercise=1231
Carbs78
Net Carbs 53
Fats- 48
Protein- 112

Wednesday totals
Calories- 1548
Carbs-141
Net Carbs- 120
Fat-31
Protein-49

     Looking at the past two days shows that I did go over my calories for the day.  But it also shows how just a small amount of exercise can keep you in your goal range.  I just completely ran out of time yesterday to get my walk in.  Which also makes me continue to realize I MUST DO THIS EARLY IN THE DAY!!!!   I mean this is important to me... so why do I put it at the bottom of my priorities for the day??? I would have to say it is just not being in the habit of doing it early.  That is one of the things I am going to have to work on.  I did keep my fat grams low on Wednesday even though I went over on my calories.... but my protein was low.  I kept my carbs very low on Tuesday and went a little over with my fats, but did good on my protein.  I can say with certainty that I am completely inconsistent.
   Let me say what I did on Tuesday for lunch.  I took my own advice and typed in what I planned to have for lunch prior to having it.  I have a calendar card from Chick-filet, and my free chicken tortilla soup was about to expire on the end of this month.  When I typed it in, it was around 270 calories.  The fat grams and carbs were low too.  When I ordered my soup at the drivethru, I noticed that it said on the marquis it was 200 calories.  When I got my soup it came with these little fritos, and after reading the bag, I saw where they were an additional 70 calories.  So, I made a major milestone for me!!! I did not eat the little fritos.  That being all said, let me say also the soup was delicious and very filling!!!
    I do not know if anyone is reading this blog or not... but I am writing it to be accountable.  It is keeping me focused.  I see that any healthy eating is about planning... so I better get to planning my menus for this weekend!