This week I spent a lot of time thinking about the following:

• Wondering where the competition was that causes me to beat myself up all the time about not doing this or doing that in terms of working out.  WTF is wrong with me to allow myself to be my own bully!  Do something every day
• Weight lifting is good and necessary as we get older. Our bodies begin to break down and we need to do some strength training to stay strong as long as possible.
• If the gym isn’t doing it for you and you work harder at home, quit the gym and build your workout space at home
• In this Keto journey, I am SICK OF EGGS!  I mean I love eggs and omelets but eating them every day is old.  I do it because I now limit myself (+ or – 15 grams) to 20 carbs per day.  I don’t stress if I go over but staying under is really hard without eating stuff that tastes like cardboard.

I feel like I always am thinking about fitness and food.  I would like for just one day to not have to think about that all the time!  For one moment I’d like to eat what I want and pig out without worrying about how much exercise I need to do to make up for it.  I have always done that my whole life.  I have a mom who was very heavy my whole life and I am butt and thigh heavy and love carbs.  I don’t think I’ll ever get away from that thinking but just one day where I don’t think about it would be nice.

This week there were just a few things I thought of as a recap to things I’ve learned or wanted to share with whoever might actually read this besides my friend Barbara ;).  Here are my revelations for this week.

• Just do what you can do because something is better than nothing.  It’s all about movement and even if that is walking, it counts as exercise.  Not all exercise is the same but it isn’t supposed to be.  The older I get the more difficult the recovery becomes some days.  I know weight lifting is good for keeping you strong and able to do more with less effort but for me, it’s causing a health issue that has subsided since I stopped.  Not much motivation there to do a heavy lifting routine when I’m not in pain not doing it. Walking is good, riding my bike is good, running is good and some weights are good. I like to try to do something 6 days a week and I even count gardening since it’s a bitch to pick up those mulch bags!

• Be honest.  I began trying Keto last week and found that I already eat much like someone doing a Keto diet.  I eat very little bread and rice and potato and love me some burger and fish and greens.  I was already halfway there but have some things I could change like my non-dairy creamer that is carb loaded.   My cream of wheat is also carb high so I’ll give that up too.  Being honest in where the problems are and giving them up is half the battle, no most of the battle!  I also had marked my Carb Manager profile noting that I was moderately active.  I don’t think that’s true because I’m not losing any weight. It has to be the number of carbs I was allotted.  My mother does Keto and she only gets 20 per day and she’s dumping weight like crazy.  I’m not as heavy on weights now so I dumped my carbs to 20 and eliminated a couple of things that kill me in carbs and I adjusted my activity level and we’ll see how it goes.

• Remember this fitness journey is a Marathon, not a sprint.  It takes some people years to get to their goal and I believe that the older you are, the longer it takes because DAMN! I get tired now more easily than I used to.  Age slows down progress.  Now that isn’t to say that age halts progress because look at Ernestine.  She’s 81 or maybe older and in great shape.  I just don’t have the want to to be in the gym for hours every day.  I don’t care that much so I give it a time slot every day that is between 45  minutes and an hour and a half on weight days when I have them and that is the end of my dedication.  Wherever it takes me in a year, two years, 10 years is ok with me.  My effort goes up and down but my persistence stays the course.  I get what I put in and that is ok with me.

This week I easily found a couple of things to share.  Every week I wonder what I’ll write about and every week I find something to say on my electronic diary.  Here are this week’s Proliferations.

This week I’ve invested in Keto.  I am already halfway there in the way that I eat and if we’re being honest here, people I know on it that do NO exercise are just melting away so I want in on that!  My Mother, whom I am going to visit soon, is on Keto as a necessity for health reasons for her and my stepdad and I thought maybe I should try it so I don’t gag my way through food for a week!

I did not get into the Falmouth Road Race this year. This makes me sad because I have so much fun with my friend Barbara whom I do it with.  Not getting in has slightly altered my thoughts on working out in that I have no reason to make myself run further so I am sticking to my cop-out 3 on run days and continuing my efforts to do something 6 days a week.

My motivation for a 6-day workout and Keto diet is ….DISNEY!!! My husband is taking me to Disney …. on a  vacation just the two of us for the first time in26 years.  Yeah, you read that right TWENTY-SIX YEARS since we went on vacation just us.  I want to look good and not tire when I am walking around all day for a week.  So all of this is now for that in addition to wanting to live longer.

This week I feel like I’m full of “Just Sayin'” thoughts so I’ll just slap them up on the page as they are, like when someone says one great big “HI!” to you without stopping because they are on their way somewhere and can’t stay to chat.

• Pushing farther beyond where you usually find yourself is just a matter of finding the right reason- Like my memorial day 4.92 mi run when I usually just run 3.  I wanted to run for those who couldn’t as my thanks to them all.  So I did!  Just Sayin!
• Getting back on track from slump weeks is the greatest feeling.  Just Sayin!
• Water Water Water is what your body needs so, keep pumping the H2O in and stay hydrated! Just Sayin!
• A lady infection is a definite reason to NOT go to the gym-  Heat and movement are not the prescribed solution for that so no matter what, you’ll find me staying home till that stuff is fixed. Just Sayin!

This week I had two revelations that I thought I’d write about.

• My routine is a never-ending roller coaster ride between more energy and less.  When I workout I feel good and barring one week of the month I feel good. AFTER my workouts now that I’m older I feel wiped out.  I feel more tired after a workout than I have in the past but so it seems is the way of getting older.  Rest becomes more important if you want to keep up a workout routine.
• Don’t let yardwork fool you, it’s a workout in disguise!  Yup, yardwork is the biggest ruse around!  I think you should get double credit for yard work because it works muscles that you don’t usually work without you even knowing you’re working them out.  Places you didn’t know you had muscles get worked out when you’re out in the yard!  Don’t be fooled friends!

I just kept writing things down this week. Apparently I had a lot of thoughts!  Here are this weeks reflections:

1. New foods are good to try – Keto Pancakes are funky but decent.  They are a 20 carb reduction in my foods for the day and a nice change from the cream of wheat which is carb heavy.
2. It’s good to have a tribe.  Having people who are struggling like you doing the same things you are is almost a necessity.  There are times you will need to be lifted up when you can’t pick yourself up and there will be times that you just need a “good for you” from a stranger.  Being part of a group makes you feel motivated when you’re not, brave when you aren’t and accountable all the time when you don’t want to be.
3. Focus on what you can do/ did do – Thinking about what isn’t going right and what you didn’t accomplish does nothing to motivate you.  Stop it! If you have a down day where you didn’t give it your all or you couldn’t quite finish what you planned, say it out loud then let it go!  You need to remember that there is a lot that you ARE doing and doing something is better than doing nothing.  Progress, not perfection.
4. Have a plan. This means a plan that you write down in a book.  Keep to it as best that you can and if you end up varying from it, write that down too along with the WHY you changed your routine.  If you don’t write it down, how can you see where you’ve been.
5. Don’t be so busy chasing your dreams that you miss the most amazing things in life!  Like this beautiful sight that was just outside my kitchen window this morning.  I could have just looked at it and said wow that’s pretty but I had to get a picture of it and then I shared it with everyone!  Don’t miss life!

New Technology is definitely motivating!

This week I could only see what I wanted so there is just one thought I’m sharing with you.  Over the last two weeks, I’ve made several excuses for taking days off.  This week it was Mon, Thurs, and also taking Saturday off.  Saturday is my regular day off but should be my only.  I have worked out at home a bunch but not as hard as I do at the gym.  something is better than nothing.  Sunday I biked at my house on my stationary bike.   Monday I was tired and sore from mulching and hoofing mulch bags, so I wrote that off as listening to my body.  Tuesday I ran after work.  Wednesday I did my TTSL workout which included 14 minutes on the bike and a little weight/cardio routine.  It didn’t feel like a “workout” in terms of how hard it was but I worked so it counts.

YESTERDAY, however, I didn’t work out.  Why?  BECAUSE I GOT ME A NEW APPLE WATCH!  That was my big birthday present.  I spent all night setting it up and learning how it works.  I can’t wait to workout today just to use my watch!  This thing is amazing and I feel super awesome wearing it.  I got new bands that will be here next week.  It will look a little fancier with a new band for regular everyday wear and I’ll have my sport band and then there will be a red sport band just because I like red things.  Super pumped and ultra-motivated to workout.

This week what I learned or reiterated to myself was all about me and it had to do with the fact that I  had 3 rest days instead of one.  Now, this was not by design, more by accidental strategy and reasoning. I keep reminding myself of a few things. so I said to myself ……………………………………………….

Here’s what I had to remind myself

1. I am not as young as I used to be and can’t do the things I used to do in the way I used to do them.  My body complains when I have hard weeks, my knees crunch when I do squats, my cuts don’t heal as fast as they used to and things that used to be easy with no aching afterward are now a little harder.  I’m not Super Woman and need to remember that I need rest days.
2. I am the only one who cares if I look good in a bathing suit this summer.  I must remember to be realistic about my perception of what I can achieve realistically and be good to my body so it keeps working for me not against me with injuries.
3. rest is good.  Rest is needed and rest is sometimes more necessary than it is on other weeks.  I’m very good about listening to what my body is telling me.  if I feel sick, I rest.  If I feel tired I cut back and if I’m hungry I feed my machine.  Since I’ve increased my calories, I feel good about it.  I love food so more always makes me happy and I’m fortunate that I like the stuff that is good for me and can do without the bad stuff pretty easily.
4. This is a marathon, not a sprint so everything in moderation and one day at a time.
5. Get back on track with counting everything!  You are NOT in compliance with a diet if you only write down MOST of what you eat.   I had a semi-shitty week in terms of eating and I had way too much sugar so it’s time to get back on track.

This last week I made a few mental notes to share.  Nothing new, just notes to share with you and to keep in my mental mindset.  Here are the things this week that helped me push through.

It’s ok to have an off eating day and not worry about it.  Easter was last Sunday and with Easter comes chocolate and food.  I don’t like dieting so I won’t say I do that but I do watch what I’m eating and mind my macros.  Holidays are just one of those days that I feel that it’s ok to eat what you want in moderation and not worry about it.  One day of not sacrificing is ok. YOu’re not going to gain 20 lbs from one treat day so don’t punish yourself.  Your diet is to help you reach goals and it is GOOD to have days where you consume more than usual.  It confuses your body which keeps it and you on your toes.

Working out with a friend is so much better.  I think I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again and again because when I have company working out with me, I am very motivated to try harder and finish the entire workout. I also feel like I’m helping someone else stay on track and motivated.  It feels good to get it done and keep someone going at the same time, most of all ME!

I don’t believe in working out when you feel like crap.  I have never subscribed to “pushing through” a workout when you feel like crap.  If it’s a little sniffle, fine but cold, flu, pneumonia, and other such illnesses, count me out!  I never feel better working out when I’m sick or even when I am at the very beginning of an illness.  I can’t give my workout my best and I never feel good during or after so my personal policy is to eat well, get rest and when I’m sick to take the day off.  No exceptions including when I have my period.  Day 1 is almost always a rest day.  That’s just how I roll.

Better late than never I say.  This week seemed full of lessons and thoughts I want to share so here they are in brief.

• Divorce the Scale- STOP enabling the scale to dictate your days!  I now weigh 3.5 lbs more than I did over the course of many weeks gone by.  I’m heavier but I shed my size larges for mediums so how is that possible? It’s possible because I am muscle heavier and have changed the shape of my body.  Don’t empower the scale!

• Have I really shrunk to a medium??  I have not been a medium in a really long time, like High School long time.  As my larges were falling down as I ran, I just thought they were stretched out not that I was a different shape.  As I ordered mediums I really prayed that they would fit because I did not believe I was the difference.  Work hard and you’ll make changes you never thought you could.

• I’m afraid of food but learning to relax. I’m eating about 1,000 calories more every day which is is freaking me out  I’ve been brought up in the McDonalds fatty society where people eat gross food and are fat.  My mother loved junk food and I have spent my entire life fighting the pudge.  I only learned recently HOW to eat well and what clean eating is.  I was always taught that more calories is a bad thing and less are the way to get “skinny”.   Listen, I don’t want to be skinny, I want to be a powerhouse muscle toned bitch in a bikini.  You know, the one that makes everyone say “wow she looks great”.  I’m getting there but only through more calories to feed my machine and make it work harder for me, not fewer calories because then my machine goes into starvation mode and I can’t win against that.  Feed your machine!

• You have to find the small successes along the way to your goals.  As I get heavier I am noticing things that I really like.  Like my butt is lifting up and looking better.  My hips and love handles are melting away.  Working with heavier weights and a mixed up weight program are toning my abs without having to do stupid sit-ups and side sit-ups for days.  Thank goodness because I don’t like them anyway.  I’m noticing improvements and those improvements are driving me hard to keep going.  Find your small success’ and grab on to them and keep working hard.  You’ll get there.