lifestyle – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

It has been 93 days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary. Diet is only one aspect of the health and wellness lifestyle that I am working to adopt.

Any healthy lifestyle includes diet, activity, fresh air, sleep, and stress management. When one is working to manage chronic health issues, every one of these is crucial.

Since my less than memorable appointment with the surgeon who is going to do my hernia repair, stress management has been something I have been focussing on. The wait time for hernia surgeries runs about 8 weeks, but it has been six weeks since my appointment, so it is time to get serious about this. My stress levels are better than they have ever been, but there are two major issues to deal with here – my discomfort with anything medical and the fact that stress triggers my asthma. 🤦

Several months ago, I bought myself soft sleep headphones. Normally, I go to bed listening to guided sleep meditations or soothing music. Lately, I have been checking out more direct anti anxiety videos on You Tube.

I have been listening to this one for the past couple of nights. To be honest, I had to listen to it sitting on my yoga ball yesterday, because it sounded interesting AND I would never have known listening to it in bed. I put on my headphones, turn on any form of meditation – guided, music, or nature sounds – and I am out cold. 😴

If you should decide to listen to it, I suggest avoiding driving while you do so.

One other thing…I may be partial to this video because the final words of advice reminded me so much of my father. Whether it was something he deliberately did, or just who he was, my father lived by a personal code that saw him through every challenging situation in his life. Regardless of anything or anyone else, my father was a man of strength, dignity, integrity, and peace. 💞

Food Diary:

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2) (4.7 mg)

(2) eggs (160) (440 mg)

(2) oz ham (110) (640 mg) (2 g)

(1/4) c green onions (10)

(5) asparagus spears (16) (10.5 mg)

(1) tsp olive oil (40)

Snacks:

(34) oz water

(1) c Cinnamon Tea

(14) multigrain crackers (140) (110 mg)

(6) mini Easter eggs (85) (10 mg) (14 grams)

Supper:

Chicken Salad:

(7) oz skinless chicken thighs w/ salt free seasoning (228) (175mg)

(1) c lettuce (6)

(1/2) tomato (11) (3.1 mg)

(2) radishes (3) (7 mg)

(5) slices cucumber (4) (.7 mg)

(1/4) c green onion (10)

(1) tbsp sunflower seeds (50) (34.6 mg)

(3) tbsp crispy fried onions (60) (90 mg)

(2) tbsp PC Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing (100) (210 mg) (6 grams)

(2) scoops Vanilla Ice Cream (183) (33.2 mg) (14.1 g)

(1) tbsp PC Caramel Syrup (70) (55 mg) (8 g)

(1) tbsp PC Chocolate syrup (33) (22.2 mg) (5.9 g)

(5) pecan halves (33)

Total Net Calories: 1251

Daily calorie goal: 1269 – 1251 = 18 under👍

Total Sodium: 1848.7 mg 👍

Daily goal sodium: 1509 to 2300 mg

Total Processed Sugar: 50 grams 🤦

Daily goal processed sugar: 25 grams

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💗😊

I persevered through another week on my mission to health and fitness. This week has become another turning point in my journey – mostly in a good way but I do have a bit of a challenge going.

Starting with the POSITIVE – my physical and emotional health are definitely going well. We have been getting a lot of heat and rain so very humid (for us). Despite that… I have managed to keep up with my daily walks with Molly and my daily You Tube work outs. The workouts run 30-45 minutes and I can work through them without a single pause.

This is the one I did today. It is one of the videos that I have been using regularly lately. 🤗

Molly is still having her difficult days on our walks and today was no exception. I am expecting a package from Amazon today which includes a new training harness for her. I sure hope it helps settle her down a bit!

I did clear out some clothes in my closet that has gotten to be too large for me now. That has to be a good sign and I am sure happy to see it happening! ☺️

I am noticing a definite shift away from just pushing myself through workouts, walks, salads, and cold showers. I still do all of those things but now those things are a natural part of an overall active and healthy lifestyle. I am still excited about getting fit – and my goals are going beyond myself to others –

Being able to provide Molly with the active lifestyle she deserves
Being a stronger, healthier partner for Dan
Being a better role model for our grandkids
Being more active and outgoing in our neighbourhood
Being an inspiration to others who are toying with the idea of adopting a healthier lifestyle
AND something that has become increasingly important to me – Doing everything I can to avoid being an unnecessary burden to our already overburdened Health Care Services. Even without my chronic health issues, I think that is so necessary.

The NEGATIVE this week is that I am finding myself dealing with a mental meltdown of sorts.

I have been on this journey for five and a half months. I have been more than happy with how it has been going and the results I have been seeing. Whoo hoo! Yay me!

But during the past few days, I have been finding myself interacting with likeminded souls. I have met a number of people in our local parks – one here, one there, walking their dogs, jogging, on their bikes and I have joined a small group of fitness conscious individuals online. This should all be great! They are all friendly, amazing people working towards a common goal.

But here’s the thing. My mind is suddenly flashing back to high school phys-ed classes. My Saskatchewan highschool phys-ed classes of the early seventies were NOT about physical fitness or developing a healthy lifestyle. They were about discovering the next hockey or football star or the next Olympic athlete. They were about competitions between teenagers who were not even close to being on a level playing field but being judged by who could run faster or jump higher or throw a ball further. They were about winners who were given trophies and medals and losers who were abused mentally, emotionally, and physically.

I know, this is bizarre and rediculous. I am sixty-seven years old. I have done things in my life – big things – major accomplishments. I should have the confidence and capability to see someone who can outperform me physically without coming unglued. But here I am…. judging myself and finding myself lacking. 🙄

The good thing is, I know it is just one more challenge to face and overcome. Just like the physical challenges that I have pushed through and the emotional challenges that I have pushed through, I know I can and will push through this and come out all the better off for doing so. Hopefully sooner than later. 🙂

That’s it for today and this week’s fitness update. Take care and have a great day!💞🌞

Tag: lifestyle

Daily Food Diary – Day 93 of 365

Week 24 To Health and Fitness