Saturday, July 5, 2014

End of the Break...

Almost been a month since I posted.  I have been through quite a bit.  I lost my way - where I wanted to go with my health changes.  I injured my back and it is basically taken a month to recover.  It is pretty frustrating to focus on trying to do good things for yourself and get knocked down like that. 

I had a couple of bright spots in the month of dread.  Random Cathy gave me such a great birthday present:  Chinese Reflexology Massage and dinner at Misto Bistro.  I had NEVER had a body massage.  Mainly, that is due to my self-consciousness regarding my body.  However, I decided to let it all go and try.  It felt really good and relaxing. 

The food at Misto Bistro was incredibly delicious!  I enjoyed every bite, even the little but of the peach cobbler presented for my birthday.  Decadence, but highly recommended for others to try.

The other bright spot was getting to see Eddie Izzard.  My seat at the show was so close to the stage that I was quite happy.  I laughed so much that I had tears flowing.  He is so funny and witty.  Every show is just so educational and I believe that is because he based a lot of his material on real facts, then he makes fun of them.  Definitely, I would go see him again.

My back is feeling much better - no more muscle cramps that start from the back of my legs and go up into my glutes.  Sitting and lying down were not an issue - walking was quite another story.  It finally took taking steroids to get all of that worked out.  Stretching would help, but only for a short while.  I would even walk and walk to make sure I got the muscles "worked out".  I would cry to myself - Please, calm down!  Quit tightening up!  I got pain meds that made me loopy, but did not do much for the muscle pain.

So, what is the "plan" now?

Health-wise:  Clean eating and exercise.  I do not care what anyone says, for me, it is the key to losing weight.  Today, I have already finished drinking 33 oz of water.  The goal is to get half a gallon drank in a day and build back to the gallon of water I was getting into my system each day.

Exercise - I need to start building up my walking from 1 mile to 3 miles a day.  That is outside of doing any strength training with my trainer.  I need to renew my contract with her and figure it is probably the best money I could invest in myself.  I actually made it and did the work outs without complaining.  I hope that this time around, I can motivate myself to do at least 30 minutes of strength training each day.  This way, it will improve my walking endurance.

Just to state - I do not run.  Running is not something I do or even enjoy.  I love walking.  I used to love biking, but I no longer have a bike.  I also love to swim, but the pool here is always full of kids.  So, do not count on me taking on marathons unless they allow me to walk.  I know I mentioned doing the Turkey Trot, but that is because it is a 3 mile walk and I think that would be a fun thing to do on Thanksgiving.

The other thing I am doing is a serious clean out in the apartment.  Not seeing much of a difference at the moment, but it is a work in progress.  I have cleared out some garbage in my closet.  The next step is to clear out old clothes and shoes.  Take those items down to a clothing receptacle and allow someone else to use these items.  Next, I have found a shredder service where I can drop off a lot of the paper items I need shredded.  $10 for the initial box or bag, then $5 for each additional.  On Saturdays, they are open from 9 AM to 3 PM and accept drop offs at that time.  When you drop it off, you are allowed to watch it all get shredded.  That would give me a lot of comfort.

I supposed it is time to start moving over more to electronic storage rather than paper.  All of the stupid American Express credit card applications really make me angry.  I never asked for it and never really want it.  I have a card for company use, but I do not use that card.  I just hate that mess.

I also need to get rid of Glamour and Allure magazine delivery.  I end up just tossing the magazines because I am not really interested in what is offered.  I get Diabetic Living and Prevention magazines on my Kindle and I completely love it.  Much easier to handle.

Spending Fast/Savings - Most of my money is going out the door to the vet's office.  Bo and Chloe have had various medical issues and it is causing me to break the bank.  I have been working hard not to bring anything into the apartment unless something else has gone out the door.  Also, I am doing that weekly cash add to both my money and savings stash.  That way I have some money saved at the end of the year.

Today, I have to get Bo his medication refill, then plan on taking care of getting towels and such done as well as clear out much of the gunk in my "office".  I have some serious plans regarding that area.  I recently put in a new cable modem and router.  Time to set up a proper server and keep stuff running in there, rather than on my Dell lap top.  All of those changes can happen next year.  Right now, it is time to throw out old papers and the like.  Also, test the HP 722c printer to see if it still prints.  If not, toss it.

For my friend with diabetes, she worried me to death over her blood sugar levels.  Okay - first thing - quit worrying.  I know - easy to say and difficult to do.  However, worrying can crank up the blood sugar, so you have to stop.  Next, look at what you are eating - seriously.  The other day, my blood sugar was 294.  I knew exactly why - food consumption.  Next day, it was 128.

The other thing is that she was hammering me about why Victoza was not working.  She acted like the medication was supposed to work a miracle.  I told her that she still needed to remain calm.  It takes awhile for the medication to build up in your system.

Now, that everything has settled and she is happy with her numbers, I do not hear from her.  That is okay.  It was very frustrating for me.  She constantly acts like she knows more than I do and puts me though this garbage.  I do not care for it.  She complained to me about an incident where she went to a conference that her part of the company was giving.  The group ordered from Jason's Deli and she went on about how it was just fortunate that she was able to eat the tuna fish without the bread and such.  Her complaint was how no one thought of diabetics and complained to someone about needing to eat because she was diabetic.  Keep in mind, she had forgotten to eat breakfast that day.

How do I handle all of this - even considering my own complaint about "coffee and donuts" - YOU have to take care of YOURSELF.  That means, do not skip meals.  Pack your own breakfast and/or lunch.  I have gotten to the point where that is exactly what I do.  Why?  The reason is easy.  I have difficulty measuring other restaurants' nutritional information.  Mom and pop places are the worst, but every now and then, it is okay to eat there.  Just do not make it an every day habit.  Otherwise, we are all safe by preparing our own meals.  You know EXACTLY what you put into it and you can feel better about what you are eating.  Never count on others to think about your needs.  It just does not happen and I have learned not to complain about it.  I may complain here, but that is about it.

I also think that while I am working on clearing out the "office", I need to keep the following message in mind:

Today, we believe God wants you to know that ...

you need to slow down.

Take a moment to pause, to think, to reflect and to pray. Only then will you be able to get the right perspective on the people and things in your life.

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