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.