Thursday, October 25, 2012

Patience and Focus

So, everyone knows you need to be patient, right?  Good things come to those who wait?  That last one, well, I don't completely agree with.  Not in a weight-loss, getting healthier, exercising more kind of thinking anyway.

So, I have finally realized that I CANNOT do everything, not all at once anyway.  But there is no reason I can't put my head down, focus and put a plan together to start incorporating smarter and healthier ways of doing things.  And that's exactly what I am now doing.....and have been for the past week or so.

I have just recently been promoted at work, which means a huge learning curve.  Unfortunately, as I work in a large Institution, the HR wheels do not move quickly at all.  So, I have my new job, and until the HR Gods revamp an old job description, post my current job, hire, and I train someone new, I have two very demanding roles.  Clearly, once again I CANNOT do everything, but I am doing my best to stay FOCUSED and deal with the important issues in both positions.

So, I'm being PATIENT and FOCUSING on what I can do in the limited time available to me personally.  I know that this situation will likely be resolved by the end of November (if I live that long - LOL!), but that does not mean that it's okay for me to sit waiting and not do things that are good for me.  Heck, the stress alone, if I don't manage it and take control of my down time will likely drive me over the edge.

So, last week, I got my eating under control.  This week, I've been taking lots of fresh veggies, hummus, planned lunch and snacks and a water bottle to work with me.......and this morning's sneak peek told me I've lost 2 lbs since the weekend.  Judging by my waistband, it's not water weight, it's weightloss!

Next week will still be a "push-me/pull-you" kind of week, having to drive across my small city numerous times to be in two places on the same day.  The following week; however, is the start of my "new" (thankfully temporary) schedule - Monday/Wednesday/Thursday in the new role, Tuesday/Friday in my former role.......and this will continue for the remainder of November.  This will allow me to get myself back into a rythm AND GET BACK TO ZEE GYM!  I cannot wait!  Having said that, though, I'm not rushing into it, I'm being PATIENT while I work through what I need to do........

So, I'm feeling:
a)  overwhelmed on some fronts, but am scheduling my life to try and not let it overcome me!
b)  in control because of a) above!

Wish me luck!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Happy Friday!

Thought I'd share some of what's in my head right now.

There is a French saying "être bien dans sa peau" - roughly translated "being good in your own skin."  I can honestly say that I noticed this morning that I am not at all happy with how I feel in my own skin.  The weight and inches I lost has lightened up the fat areas on my body, but now they are loose and giggly.  I hate that.  HATE IT!  I feel like a bowl of jello that hasn't quite set yet.  It's ugly.  I doesn't look bad in clothing, it's how it feels that I don't like.

I've started really trying to focus on what my body is telling me and letting that being one of they main things that moves me.  I started paying more attention to what my body was saying after my Menière's diagnosis and it helps a lot!  With the Menière's my worst symptoms are tinitis and dizziness....once I start noticing them (I'm very good about tuning them out), I know I'm pushing limits - too much caffiene, too much processed food, not enough water, not enough sleep.......

Right now, it's saying, time to step back on the clean eating bandwagon, so 17DD here I come again, hopefully tomorrow.  I am transitioning to a new job (ie read working two full time jobs until someone is found to replace me in my current one) on Monday, so I am allowing myself to just coast on the workout front right now.  I will get back into a good routine, but with so many demands on myself, it's ridiculous for me to even entertain adding another structured activity to my life right now.  So I will walk my dog for cardio (and bring my camera when the weather allows it) and get through the next month or so.

Happy Friday!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Things are coming together!

So, a lot of people (most maybe) do Spring cleaning each year.  Living on a farm, that's just not realistic.  I do fall cleaning - and strangely enough am very much looking forward to this rainy weekend as I will be "stuck" inside for a good part of it and able to tackle purging exercises I've been putting off.

The TO DO list include:

1.  My closet!  I did some reorganizing and purging in the summer, but it now needs a revamp - put summer clothes away and organize and get rid of stuff I will never wear again.

2.  My sewing area - BIG purging exercise on the horizon.  I will likely make very few pieces of actual clothing for myself in the near future, so will share a lot of fabric I will likely  never use with my local Salvation Army store.  No point in keeping it anymore as it's been sitting in boxes and in piles for eons now.

What I am going to do instead is purge, reorganize (trip to Ikea in here for storage) and then start quilting again.  It's such a stress buster!

3.  My garage - I don't store my vehicle inside in the summer, but do store a lot of seasonal stuff instead, bikes, mowers, etc.  and of course every piece of "stuff" that the kids feel they're too lazy to actually put away (I think there are 3 or 4 coolers in there as well).  So I'm going to clear out my shed, move and store stuff from my garage in the shed and make room for my van.  I hate scraping windows in the morning (and have had to twice already this week), so it's definitely time.

4.  The office....well, likely that will wait for another week or so.



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With purging clutter, comes peace.  Peace of mind for me.

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Yesterday, I had an amazing face-to-face chat with my former trainer.  Boy I miss her.  Now that things are slowing down on the farm (work is still crazy mind you), I need to get myself back to the gym and back into a routine.  Yesterday, before our meeting, she e-mailed me my training schedule.....I'm going to do this solo (wish me luck on that one!).  But she's given me a total write up on what I've done in the past and organized it for me♥  Best thing of all, she gave me a diary to log everything into♥ and I will be checking in with her weekly to e-log my progress with her.

Who said long-distance relationships can't work?  She will be moving to NYC very shortly and she will still be my cheering section from afar:)

Happy Friday!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Is life always a struggle?

That's the question that I've been struggling (?) with the past few weeks.  It seems that just when everything is in it's place, nothing stays put long enough to be able to sit back and enjoy.  I'm tired......I think perhaps that's why I struggle so much.

So, I'm doing something about it.  Yes, I know, I've said this before.  Likely I will say it again, but this time, I plan (see, I'm changing the wording here, I'm not saying "I hope") on finalizing a realistic plan and setting short-term goals that will be attainable.  The short-term goals will not be a measurement defined by that evil scale, they will be measured by my success with workouts.   Yes, I will still be weighing in, I will still be taking my measurements (note to self - take your measurements today please), but they won't be what drives me, they will just be the benefit.

I need to take care of the physical me.  I've been much more conscious of my food intake over the past few days.  I'm tracking on WW and MFP right now and finding that just doing those two exercises reinforce my clean-eating food choices.  For instance, after work yesterday, I popped in the grocery store to pick up some snack foods.  Instead of processed cr@p that I've been known to pick in the past (especially when I'm hungry), or cheese (lordy I love you♥), I came away with raspberries and yogurt.  I actually didn't even look at my usual go-tos.  Good on me, eh?

Okay, next thing - this evening I'm meeting up with my lovely (former) trainer.  She's going back to school and is no longer working at my gym......but she's devised the next step for my training and as of next week, I will be back at the gym working her program and logging minutes for formal workouts rather than walks with various dogs (mine and my friends') or strolls through campus (hills and stairs included) over lunch hour.

So, while I'm working on my plan, I will keep posting.  I will endeavour to keep my posts positive to help myself stay in a positive mindspace.

That's it!  Here's to moving from struggling to having willpower and stayingpower!

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