Time to make some changes

January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 ~ ~M ~ 50 Comments

This past year was not the best year for my physical and mental health. I think the fact that I stayed home the majority of the time was a big factor, but I have also had some recent health issues and found out that there are some lifestyle changes that I need to make. With all of that in mind, I decided to set some goals for myself. Here are some of the changes that I want to try and make part of my daily routine.

Goals:

1.) Drink one gallon of water daily, which equals four water bottles.

I have always had a problem staying hydrated, and recently my blood pressure has been really high. So I did some research and found out that drinking more water can help lower blood pressure. The reason water helps is because when your body becomes depleted of water, it tries to secure more water by retaining sodium, which can then cause high blood pressure. Of course, I also learned that drinking too much water can cause high blood pressure and other health issues, so I plan to stick with the daily recommended amount, which is one gallon of water per day.

2.) Lose 5 lbs. a month until I’m at my goal weight, which is 125 lbs.

I’ve noticed my weight slowly increasing over the past year. I went from 127 lbs. to 140 lbs. I think a lot of this is because I’ve been less active, but I’ve also been eating larger portions of food and eating when other family members are eating instead of when I’m actually hungry. So I think by adjusting when I eat and measuring out my food, I’ll likely do better.

3.) Eat oatmeal every day to help lower my cholesterol and eat Cheerios as my snack, which is healthier than chips.

Oatmeal is supposed to be a good way to lower cholesterol, and I recently had two different doctors inform me that I need to get my cholesterol under control. I really don’t want to go on medication, and I’ve been told I’m too young to be having this issue at my age, so I know I need to make some drastic changes to my diet. I’m planning to watch my intake of greasy foods and eat more whole foods. I also love eating chips, and dill pickle chips are my favorite. So I’ve decided to switch to Cheerios, which I also enjoy.

4.) Finish reading one book every month.

I find myself starting a lot of books but not always finishing them, and I really do love books. I also find reading to have a very calming effect on me, and since I’ve been struggling with a lot of anxiety lately, I thought putting reading on my goal list would help provide me with a reprieve from the daily stresses.

5.) Walk at least 10,000 steps every day.

For the majority of 2020, I walked 10,000 steps a day. Last month though, I had some knee issues, and I completely stopped walking. Over the past few weeks, since my knee is better, I’ve gotten my regular walking routine back, and I’m starting to feel so much better because of it. So I just want to continue doing this, and it’s probably a goal I will try to continue for the rest of my life.

6.) Do a seven-minute workout every day.

I recently found this app called “7,” which is a free daily workout app. (It’s the blue one in case any of you decide to look for it in the app store.) I love the app already because you just hit the go button, and it gives you a different seven minute timed workout for each day of the week. I ended up doing the workout with my family today, and it really kicked my butt. Lol… It just shows me how out of shape I really am.

7.) Journal at the end of each day and keep a daily planner.

Keeping a journal is something I’ve done off and on for years, but I want to start sticking with it more often, even if I don’t write a lot. Plus, with the new school semester starting soon, I need to have a daily planner to keep track of my studies and daily goals.

8.) Control portion sizes of food.

As I already mentioned, I need to be better about this, and I think measuring out my food will help.

9.) Avoid adding butter, salt, and creamer to foods.

I always lose weight when I eliminate butter and creamer, and I figure cutting out sodium can’t hurt either.

10.) Avoid soda and alcohol.

I always feel so sluggish when I give into my cravings for soda, and I don’t typically drink a lot of alcohol. Still, in recent months I started drinking more wine than I usually do. So with all the medical issues I’ve been having, I’ve just decided to eliminate alcohol to see if it helps me feel better. I figure it can’t hurt, and it’s something I can certainly live without.

Anyway, these are just some of the changes that I’ve decided to make. I think all of these goals have the potential to become permanent changes in my life. I hope everyone can do better in this new year. We just have to keep on trying.

Happy New Year, everyone! ~M xo

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/change-new-beginning-renewal-671374/

#weekendcoffeeshare – An introspective week

March 11, 2017March 11, 2017 ~ ~M ~ 29 Comments

Welcome to this episode of the weekend coffee share. I hope all of you have had a pleasant week. Please grab a mug of your favorite hot beverage and sit right down. This week was fairly uneventful, and yet I still feel compelled to ramble on about the blandness of its nature. So get comfortable and I’ll try to be quick.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I have been very introspective this week. I think that’s why I feel like I haven’t much to talk about because I’ve mostly been in seclusion; avoiding people like the plague. I’ve come to a point in my life where I feel I’m sort of stuck in the muck. It’s like I’ve been sandwiched between two very tall mountains, stranded in the ugliest looking valley you’ve ever seen, near a never ending river of molasses, and there’s nowhere to go, except up the mountains, or through the syrupy substance.

All of a sudden I’m getting hungry, are you too? All of this talk about molasses and syrup is making me crave gingerbread cookies and pancakes. Yum! Which brings me to a completely different subject. (See how easily I escaped that last one! Phew!)

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m about to start a new diet regime called, The Whole30. I don’t know if any of you have heard about it, but it’s a 30-day diet program, which allows you to discover which foods are helpful and which foods are harmful to your body. My poor husband recently discovered that he is allergic to about every food known to man, and so we are in desperate need of figuring out exactly what he can eat and what he can’t. Preliminary results from his doctor show that he will never be able to eat the majority of boxed or canned foods ever again. He is allergic to quite a few different preservatives and also nickel, which is found in thousands of different things (not just food).

I will now be able to add to my resume not just wife and mother of four girls, but master chef as well. The challenge will be to eat as organically as we can, which is still quite a challenge even today. It will require that we cut out all sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, and anything that could be considered a “treat.” We will only be able to eat meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and natural fats. And I really love bread, so this is going to be terribly hard. But I am having enough health issues of my own, so I’m hoping this diet will help me as well.

We live in a climate where it’s very hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables all year long, especially since the growing season is so short here. And with the cost of organic foods these days, I am not really sure how this will affect us financially. Yet we have no other choice, if we don’t do this, my hubby will continue to suffer on a daily basis and so we’ve got to get to the bottom of what is ailing him. Our girls seem more than happy to go along with this crazy experiment. I wonder what they will be saying after a few days of eating this way. It’ll be an adventure for sure.

If any of you are struggling with similar issues, I would be happy to have you tag along and partner with me and my family as we do this 30-day challenge. I won’t try to explain everything to you right now, but for more information, you can find all you need to know here. Since this sort of challenge requires such a strict and well-laid plan, I won’t be starting this diet until around April 1^st. I have a 421-page book to read through first, and then the meal planning begins!

Well now, I think I’ve rambled on enough for today. I’m feeling exhausted just thinking about what we are going to be facing next month. At least I’m at home most of the time. My oldest daughter was able to do this challenge successfully and she only has a toaster oven and a hot plate where she lives. So I figure if she can do it without a proper kitchen, than I can too!

Have a lovely week everyone and feel free to DM me on Twitter (@HerWritingHaven) if you want to take part in this challenge. It’s all about supporting each other through endeavors like these. I think I would feel even more encouraged, knowing that somebody else wanted to participate as well.

See you next Saturday! ~M

Many thanks to Nerd In The Brain for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare, a collective of chats over digital coffee among bloggers. To find out more, and to see this weeks posts, go here.

Photo credit: pixabay.com and giphy.com

#weekendcoffeeshare – Staying focused

March 4, 2017March 4, 2017 ~ ~M ~ 22 Comments

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that this week has gone much better than last. I’ve realized that I need to stay focused on my goals and really work on getting things done. I always seem to do better when I take a structured approach to anything. I started off the week by making myself a detailed schedule of what I wanted to accomplish, and so far I have completed each task. I am an organizer by nature, and when things aren’t in perfect order, I sort of begin to stress out a little bit. So by simple planning, I feel l have made some good progress.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I turned 45 this week. I had a wonderful birthday this year. I woke up to a plate full of toast made by my 8yr old daughter, and a lovely poem written by my very sweet husband. I spent the entire day with my family, shopping and having fun. I was treated like a princess, and left the mall with a great big box of dark chocolate sea salt caramels! We even went to see a movie, “A Dog’s Purpose.” I am not much of a movie watcher, but I have to admit, I really did enjoy this one. It was a tearjerker for sure, and by the end of it, my husband and I were both bawling our eyes out.

Later that night we went out for Chinese food, and 3 days later, we are still surviving on leftovers from that dinner. The portion sizes were enough to feed a football team, and the table was barely large enough to hold all the food they brought out to us. We ordered the meal for three, even though there were four of us there. Good thing we didn’t order the meal for four! I came home that night feeling like I might possibly die from overeating, and the very idea of Chinese food right now, sort of makes me feel ill.

If we were having coffee, I’d also tell you that I have been feeling quite melancholy lately, and even though this week couldn’t have gone better, I am still feeling overwhelmed at times. I’m learning to accept what I can’t change though, and trying not to let things get me down that I have no control over. Life isn’t always what we hope for or expect. We just have to learn to be as happy as we can, where we’re at, and learn to appreciate the little things that God sends our way. I hope all of you have had a wonderful week.

Love and blessings, ~M xo

Find more weekend coffee share posters here.

Photo credit: pixabay.com & giphy.com

A quick update…

January 13, 2017January 13, 2017 ~ ~M ~ 31 Comments

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give all of you a quick update. Since the start of the new year, I have been trying to figure out a way to make this year better than last. I know I can’t have a repeat of last year, as it nearly killed me. So after doing a lot of thinking over the last couple of weeks, I have decided that I really need to focus more of my time on novel writing. I also want to make some changes here on WordPress. So you may see me introducing a variety of new and different types of blog posts from here on out. Another thing is, I am no longer going to be active on social media. So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc… have all been removed from my phone. These platforms have just become too much of a distraction for me and I can’t seem to focus on the work that I need to get done because of it. I may decide to check those accounts once a month if I have some free time, but I definitely won’t be on there more often than that. Anyway, here’s to hoping that I’ll be able to make some progress this year. Hope all of you are doing the same. Love you guys! ~M xoxo

Just a quick update on where I’ve been…

November 9, 2016 ~ ~M ~ 23 Comments

I want to apologize for not reading and commenting on as many blogs as I usually do. I have been so busy over the last few months, because both of my girls are getting married this year. As a matter of fact, one just got married last month in California, and the other gets married next month in Florida. And yes, they just had to get married and move to states, which are completely opposite of where I live! Lol…

So I’m currently down in Florida this week, helping my daughter get everything planned for her wedding day. I don’t know how much help I’ve really been, but I’m here nonetheless.

Yesterday was mostly picking out wedding decorations, and today she went out shopping for wedding attire for the men. Tomorrow is meeting with the photographer, snapping a few pre-engagement photos, then ordering the cake, flowers, etc…..

I’m currently at our resort, making garland and bows. It’s so much better if I just make the things she wants to use as decorations, and a whole lot cheaper too!

Florida is so nice this time of year, compared to the cool fall days in Wisconsin. We leave here on Friday to head back, but it’s been a nice break for me, and fun spending some time with my daughter. Hope everyone is having a good week! ~M