Wellness Wednesday #30 (on Thursday)

Oops! I did it again! It's Thursday, isn't it?! Well, re-entry after a retreat does take some adjusting. Wednesday I have Bible study (for one more week) and in the afternoon I took a 2+ hour nap. My family and friends know that I do not nap unless I have a migraine. Occasionally I get one that compels me to sleep whether I want to or not; it is like a switch goes off in my brain that says "overload" and puts me to sleep. I wish it was restful sleep, but it's not. Today is a little bit better.

As I write I have 5 loaves of bread, still in the dough rising stage and I just took whole wheat biscuits out of the oven. Welcome to Sacramento in the summer...the AC is on before 9AM...well technically it's still spring. In the summer the AC goes on at 7AM! LOL However, I am pleased with myself as today I made it out of bed at 6AM to walk! Yesterday I was not well enough, but today I did not want to break the pattern. So I did the two mile walk, which does not measure two miles on my pedometer, probably because some of the steps are side to side. Shuffles and sideways movements do not count as steps. Okay, so do I feel rah! rah! rah! about getting up and exercising each morning? NO! But I did notice when I came back from the retreat that my body missed having the work out. So I think that is progress.

Oh, weigh in. Still 317#...but if you had seen all the food we had to eat at the retreat and I used no discretion or self control, you would be thinking this is a miracle in itself. I am hopefully expecting the weight to drop this week if I continue walking. I still have not made it to 10000 steps. But it is still a goal. A work in progress.

I was asked if I really recommend Leslie Sansone's walking DVDs. Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, my friend Margaret just told me about this at QVC and I ordered it. Remember it is an exercise DVD - so Leslie is overly cheerful as most exercise instructors are and if you are going to listen to them for the awesome music, don't! LOL Her DVDs are probably not for everyone, but I will talk about why they are working for me.

1. You don't have to go anywhere to exercise, it's right in your home! Some people have lovely places to walk. I have smog from San Francisco and the Hwy floating over my house. Cough! Cough! It is not uncommon for it to be in the 80s in the early morning during summer months. Rain or shine, no matter the heat, I can walk.

2. Even if you can walk in your neighborhood, this will give you more of a workout than just regular walking. You also have the benefit of a warm up and cool down.

3. It's low impact and you can go at a slower pace if you need to.

4. There is a variety so you can choose something shorter for a busy day or something longer and more strenuous for a day when you have more time or want more of a challenge. You can experiment with some other types of walking, some with kick boxing moves, exercise bands etc.

5. Even though other movements are added, you don't feel like the dumby in the aerobics class who can't figure out what body appendage goes where and when.

6. I can do it any time day or night.

Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging me. I sure appreciate it! I am hoping to push past this plateau and start losing again. Hopefully I can still make my weight loss goal by the time of our trip in August.

In the next couple weeks we are going to be working on organizing around the house and that will help tremendously towards my mental health, which in turn effects my success with food and exercise. Organization is probably the single biggest factor for my wellness. We have our home school area almost done with new, cheap book cases to hold supplies and books, the books catalogued and items placed efficiently according to ease of use. I have also organized my cookbook shelf for better use. I'm looking forward to sharing some of the changes and how they are helping me, in the near future.