Tag: wellbeing

Five Weeks To Go 🖐️

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, January 2023

Five Weeks to go until I have completed YEAR ONE of my health and fitness program.   The year has not been without its setbacks, but I have stayed committed.    I remind myself daily that to feel better, do better, and be better in the future, I have to take care of myself physically, mentally, and emotionally today.  So, I do it!

This past week, I worked out every morning.  It felt really good to get in some relatively intense Zumba workouts.   The days when I opted for some freestyle dancing were fun as well.  It just feels good to move.

I checked in every day with my Volley workout accountability group, as I have been doing for months now (even when I had no voice and not much to say).  We share our struggles, our triumphs, and our triumphs in spite of our struggles!  It  is  more helpful than I could have imagined.  My Volley partners and friends, Dwight and Jackie, are so encouraging, supportive, inspiring, and upbeat!  Volley sharing has consistently become one of my favourite  parts of  my  day.

I have been getting outside more often.  Just getting a bit of fresh air is a bonus at this time of year.   Obviously it is a bigger and better  bonus, fitness wise,  when I can shovel some snow or take Molly for a walk as well.

I have been working on my diet.  Avoiding sweet and salty snacks hasn’t been easy, especially over the holidays, but I have tried to focus on healthy meals.  We have had my full repertoire of salad meals in the past few days.  We also celebrated with our belated New Year’s Eve supper on Friday evening.  That was a bit indulgent but we did share one steak, one baked potato, and one bottle of champagne. 👍

Yesterday, Dan and I took Molly over to the dog park.  She had a great run with half a dozen other dogs, we had a nice visit with their humans, and we were joined by granddaughter Genie.   Once we were all sufficiently chilled, I coaxed Genie over to the house for a  cup of hot tea and we plied her with leftover Christmas chocolates.  🤗

Speaking of Genie, she has been keeping herself occupied while on break from the midway.    This week she, and her fiance Alec, built a full-on sanctuary for their miniature parrots – George and Nova.

They added a sleeping tent and they still have a few exterior trim boards to install, but George and Nova are moved in and enjoying their bigger and better home. 

That is it for this week’s update.  Only five more weeks to go for YEAR ONE and I am pushing hard to make the most of them.  This week I am going to make more of an effort with my evening light weight workouts.  I have been struggling to get back up to speed on them, but I am determined to do it, so it is as good as done.

Take Care and Have A Great Day!💞🌞

Ten Seconds of Molly While Dan Was Vacuuming the Rug.

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Week 38 – Feeling Fine!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, November 2022

It is thirty-eight weeks since I started my health and fitness journey back on February 14th. That was nine months ago yesterday!

Feeling fine!

I have a few things to mention in my weekly update…

1. I am feeling fine, which is really great because I have a semi annual checkup with my respiratory specialist on Friday. He didn’t order any x-rays, scans, or lung function tests so it remains to be seen what he will notice, but in May my blood pressure was on the high side and these days it is holding steady at about 117/71 so I hope that impresses him. 🙂

2. I went to the mall on Sunday and stopped in to see grandson Rory who works at a casual clothing shop. I picked up a pair of fleece lined sweat pants and a pair of light lounging pants. Both were size SMALL and they both fit. YAY!! That would not have been the case in February. 🙄

3. I pumped up my weight workout last night. 5# dumbbells – 4 lifts – 5 reps – 5 sets. Plus 15 wall push-ups. 💪

4. have been nailing my Zumba workouts in the morning and I was trying to walk Molly every couple of days since her surgery. Due to the snow and ice and her uncooperative nature, I had to pull the plug on her walks on Sunday. She is hell bent on going to the dog park and that just cannot happen until next week… 😟 (Have I mentioned that she weighs 90 pounds now?)

5. In lieu of walking, I have been getting outside for some fresh air and snow shoveling. 😏

And finally… I know I have been MIA a lot lately for posting blogs and reading those that I generally follow. I have been keeping busy but mostly Molly has been going through a phase and surgery recovery. High maintenance would be an understatement – and she takes particular issue with me picking up my phone or sitting down at the computer – or sitting ANYWHERE for that matter.

She is usually good when we are eating, when she is eating, or when I am doing my workouts. 💞

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Cleanest walks on the block. 😊

‘Scrapsing Out’

by annemariedemyen, posted in April 2022

I have been rather MIA on WordPress for the last few weeks. This bothers me, because I do enjoy posting and reading everyone else’s news and views of the day. It is hard to explain, but I have gotten so caught up in my spring fitness plan, that I have rather lost (or found) myself in it. 🙄

When I met Dan, I had a little Terrier named Scraps. She had this wierd habit of becoming totally mesmerized at random moments. She would be walking across the room and suddenly go off into her own little world. We referred to these episodes as ‘Scrapsing Out’.

Mark and Scraps

Anyway… For the past few weeks I have been ‘Scrapsing Out’. It started innocently enough when I realized my fitness level was not going to cut it when spring (and spring yard cleanup) arrived. I started dancersizing for half an hour a day. The results were almost impressive. I am looking and feeling much better. I even have muscle tone in my arms!

I noticed that I was feeling mentally sharper and emotionally grounded – so I started engaging in more mental exercise and meditating on a regular basis.

When our snow and ice melted (currently it has temporarily returned), I started walking everyday. I also got focussed on spending more time preparing healthier meals.

Every day, I am feeling better, am more energetic, and am more active. But, I have kind of lost that time that I used to spend blogging. Since, that was quality time for me I am definitely trying to get back to fitting it into my new lifestyle. It may take a while but I am working on it.

But… I am also really enjoying feeling more fit everyday! And I am totally impressed that I have kicked up my dancersizing routines. This is one of the You Tube ones I use now. Obviously, I do not look like these girls but I am doing a pretty amazing job of keeping up with them. 😊

https://youtu.be/4h62OzPwrms

That is it for today. I will post again soon and I will absolutely get around to catching up on all of your news asap.

Take care and have a great day! 💞