Hmmmmm.........food for thought, strength, and longevity

I had a very, shall we say, interesting week last week - hence the short hiatus from blogging.

I went for my audiology test and met with the surgeon......well, it would seem that I need more tests - next test is an MRI to ensure I don't have a brain tumour. Interesting how we go from "I can't hear well" to ruling out things like brain tumours? Well, it would seem that I likely have Menière's Disease - it's not a disease, more like a condition. The MRI is the help them narrow it down to Menière's, not actually them looking for a tumour - if there's no tumour, it will likely be Menière's and there will be more testing.....

Anyway, suffice it to say that I am officially a "dizzy broad" now. I've been walking around in a bit of a daze since all of this news on Tuesday afternoon - I have a definite loss of hearing in my right ear, with a full-feeling, slight tinitis (ringing), and I am slightly dizzy part of the time, okay, maybe more than I was conscious of. My body seems to have been dealing with the tinitis well, so well in fact that when the technician asked me if I had ringing in my ear(s) I had to stop and think about it - and of course now, it's all I can hear! Oh the power of suggestion. Anyway, that and the dizziness.....I have found myself dizzy on and off for a year or two - and have figured out workarounds for when it happens - I get dizzy on a treadmill if I look at the treadmill, but if I focus on the tv screens at the gym and get involved in a show, then it goes off......

I am thankful that I have not had any vertigo attacks, which I understand can be very debilitating and frequent if one is susceptible to them. Hoping I never get there.

So, anyway, this isn't a pitty party of any sort, just a statement of facts. I took a few days off and just cruised through work and what needed to be done while I let my subconscious and conscious self deal with things.......and today, being Monday, and a lovely fresh start to a new week, I'm taking this very seriously and planning.

Plan: Well, interestingly enough, and no surprise really, the healthier I am and the better shape I am in will help me deal with this and any and every other health concern/stress that life throws at me. I'm back.......and focused.......and I am going to get to my goal(s) this time.

First: Fitness - it's okay NOT to work out formally - any sort of general activity I can get going on the farm is a bonus. So thankful that spring is around the corner - We have 4.5 acres of lawn, oh, wait, no I have 6 acres of lawn now that my lovely horsie girl is no longer with us, that needs to be cut - who said it all must be cut on a ride-on mower? I have a perfectly good, old-fashioned push mower that works well too! Just add gas, check the oil and GO! And gardening - I can live out in my gardens and never quite get on top of everything - opportunity is everywhere!

Food - that's definitely what fuels this engine - if I put the "good gas and oil" in my mowers, wouldn't I do the same for myself? After yesterday's workouts, I did a great grocery shop - only the perimeter of the store (actually only the greens, fish, and dairy sections of the grocery store) and then to the green grocer's for the rest. I went home, cooked up a storm in preparation for the work week, made an amazing dinner for my love and I.

Chillin' - for me this is a bit of a lost art....I'm a work in progress here - finally making and taking time out for just me - I read a book this past month! I've taken up organizing my cross stitching again....and I'm purging my sewing area and have pulled out a project I'd like to finish in my quiting pile.

So, watch me.........I'm "ON!"

*********************************************

This week looks like this:

17DD reboot - Cycle 1, Day 1, Monday, March 5th

Monday - cardio at the gym
Tuesday - strength training (gym)
Wednesday - cardio at the gym
Thursday - strength training (gym)
Friday - cardio at the gym
Saturday - day off!
Sunday - strength training (gym)

I want to get one very SOLID week under my belt.....oh, belt, yes, I have a beautiful new wide black belt that I would love to wear sometime soon - you know, when it doesn't make me look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy cinched at the waist!

Happy Hump Day!

It's "middle of the week" day! Makes me wonder, though if it's only a four-day work week, which day is really considered the middle? I know for a fact that yesterday was Tuesday, according to the calendar, but quite frankly it certainly felt much more Monday-ish around here.

Last night, I ate almost two pancakes. I didn't need more than that, so I stopped about 3/4 of the way through the last one. End results: I feel fine mentally that I ate them (they were pre-planned), I feel a bit bloated (but that's okay because I stopped when I was full and didn't push to finish them), and I did workout and had a perfect day otherwise on the food/water/exercise front. See, my head is in the right space!

Today Day 3 of the 17 Day Diet and clean eating:

WUD
Coffee
B - 2 eggs, evoo, yellow bell pepper, onion, mushrooms
S - yogurt
L - BAS with tuna
S - yogurt with berries
D - baked veggies with chicken meatballs

Minimum 8 glasses of water (I'm already almost finished #2)
Hair-i-tude Adjustment at 5pm - cannot wait - I'm looking a bit scraggly

....and HOMEWORK! Yes, my trainer has given me homework! So 100 crunches - 5 different types of ab exercises, 20 reps each.

Work is still very, very busy. I'm working on lestening the stress by keeping my head in the right place.

That's it! See you tomorrow :)