It’s the end of the second week of my effort to make exercise a habit. How did I do?

Well, I started off great, going for daily walks and doing my exercises in the evening while watching Parts Unknown. I’m hooked on the show and exercising while I watch and listen makes the workout seem more manageable. I seem to take my time with the stretching exercises too. Maybe the distraction is helpful.

I notice I’m crafty when it comes to cardio. I prefer walking because I’m still unsure about exerting myself. I feel comfortable using the cardio machines at the gym, at a slow pace and for a max of 20 minutes. Now it’s going to the gym becomes a debate in my head. Never a dull moment in my inner chatter, that’s for sure. I’ll keep working on telling myself that I will get stronger and cardio will go fine. I know it’s going to take time both to increase my fitness level and to convince myself that I will be ok.

I was full of energy until Thursday and Friday when I went to a temp job from 8-5 each day. I was exhausted each evening when I got home. Crazy tired! It’s so strange how sitting all day can drain your energy. I ended up taking both as rest days. I’m ok with that. I’m a believer in listening to my body, that’s not going to change.

One thing that I am struggling with is a tender tailbone. It started while I was away on vacation in August. Not sure what the issue is, I’ll try to have it looked at this week. Sitting is uncomfortable, and I’m pretty restless because of it.

Now to my favourite topic, food. On Monday I had made a roast chicken and vegetables, a dish that becomes the basis for many other meals. Stuff the chicken with onion, garlic, and herbs, drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Place the chicken on a bed of cut potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Roast at 425F for 2.5 hours. Simple. It’s different every time, just use vegetable and seasoning that you like.

The first-night dinner is roast chicken and vegetables on a bed of spinach. Tear apart the chicken and place it and the vegetables in the fridge. Keep the chicken bones. Next, use a slow cooker to make chicken broth overnight. Place the chicken bones, an onion, garlic, celery, carrots, maybe some herbs or whatever you like and cover with water. Cook on low overnight. In the morning strain it and refrigerate. Now you have the basis for chicken soup, chicken salad, roast veggie frittata, and whatever else you can think up.

After a couple of days of making meals with the chicken, stock, and veggies. I portion some of the stock, chicken, and roasted veggies (if there are any left) into baggies and put them in the freezer. Place the items in a pot on the stove to thaw and heat. This way there are a variety of items to mix and match for a quick meal. Tip: pour a little stock in with the chicken, it keeps better this way when frozen.

I’m looking at the list of building blocks as I type…#1 on the list ‘decrease your stress.’ Something that is in my thoughts daily as I search for job postings and prepare cover letters and resumes for. I find this process frustrating since I love to talk, write, and tell stories, just not necessarily in the context of skills and selling myself. The chatter in my head is non-stop, and I procrastinate in every possible way imaginable. Followed by reading online advice about making a career change. This is one thing I search online for and get sucked down the rabbit hole of reading article after article for any tidbit of advice that resonates with me. It’s amazing how much time can be spent reading online in hopes of that voice inside your head saying ‘oh yeah, that makes sense.’

Nonetheless, I persevere. I’m doing what makes sense to me. Searching and applying. Working as a temp, which I consider networking and quite enjoy. I keep busy and try to keep things in perspective. That’s all I can do. I still miss the old days of walking into a business with a copy of my resume. I think I’m dating myself with that statement. haha!

This week I’m going to do more cooking and stock up the freezer. Aiming for three cardio workouts at the gym. Working in the yard and garden to get them ready for fall.

Little by little I will build up strength and not have to talk myself into doing workouts. There are many things I do that I never give a second thought to. Now I’m wondering how I developed those habits. Something I’m going to read up on.

Ciao!

I’ve made it through the first week of adding exercise into my life!

The first two days went smoothly. I was excited to go to the gym and felt proud that I had done my workouts and gone for a walk each day while being mindful of what I ate.

Day 3 was challenging. There was some landscape work being done at my house that I was supervising from the front step. Meanwhile, the chatter in my head was debating what to do about today’s workout. I had done two days in a row, surely it was fine that I made today a rest day. After all, I didn’t want to overdo it right from the start. It was nearly 2 p.m. and it was too late to go to the gym. Yes, today would be a rest day. This back and forth crazy talk in my head continued until 2:45 p.m. when I put on my workout clothes and grabbed the car keys! I drove to the gym and did my workout. I even went for a walk afterward.

It’s funny how I can talk myself into or out of many things. The notion of exercise seems to enhance my most creative reasoning arguments for or against actually performing physical activity. It’s a good thing I can laugh at myself.

Day 4 consisted of more landscaping supervision, which I am now an expert. I did get off the step and do some work in the garden beds too. Today I was physically drained and feeling a little off. I have these kinds of days now and then. I did take today as a rest day and went to bed early.

It’s the weekend, I was still feeling a bit off on day 5 but started feeling energetic by evening and did my full workout at home. Thank goodness! By this time I’ve usually fallen off the exercise wagon. Spent the evening stretching and rolling out the tight spots. I’m getting through my workouts easier and feel like I know how to perform the exercises well.

Feeling back to normal today and full of energy on day 6. Washed windows, pruned a hedge, and went for a walk. This energy is likely coming from procrastination mode. I’m in the process of a career change and looking for work. This process wears on me and is an area of stress that I have to be mindful of because it can really drag me down. I’m doing my best to stay aware of how masterful I am in procrastinating and break the career search into manageable tasks. My workout went well today, maybe it was because I was feeling procrastination taking over and put all my energy into working out. At least I know that exercise helps to calm my nervousness.

I kept my meals simple this week as I’m trying to be creative and use what I have on hand before shopping. It’s been quinoa, simple salads and vegetables, chicken breast, fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal. I’ve discovered in the past that I don’t do well with adding extra protein, I gain weight when I add more than I normally consume. The key for me is portion control and that generally means measuring to be sure I’m eating reasonable portions. Eyeballing portions leads me down the path of overeating.

It’s been a good week overall. I’m proud of myself for doing the workouts and stretching. I feel the squishiness firming up and feel stronger already. Now the tricky part, to keep exercising!

This week I’ll share some recipes that I enjoy and what I do to place a few meals in the freezer each week. That way there’s always a meal on hand to heat up when I don’t have the time or energy to cook.

Ciao!

I had my last follow up at the centre in June and am doing great. At that appointment, I decided that I am done with the so-called new normal and living with limitations and declared myself New and Improved! I’ve been struggling with procrastination winning over exercise. I also knew it was time to kick procrastination to the curb, but how?

That same week an email arrived about a Younger Next Year (YNY) workshop presented by Blaine Mackie at Mackie Physiotherapy. I was intrigued by this workshop and what it meant to be younger next year. I signed up immediately.

While sitting at the YNY workshop at Mackie Physio clinic, I realized that this was it! This lifestyle concept was what I needed to add exercise into my life. Along with accountability and community, Blaine discussed five building blocks that contribute to your best philosophical identity:

• decrease your stress
• nutrition
• state of mind
• flexibility (ability to move)
• strength and cardiovascular

Bells were going off in my head. I do many of these things well on my own. It was the words ‘accountability and community’ that struck me. I had been trying to exercise by myself, at home, for free, and would give up after a week every time. A pulling feeling in my chest would be the catalyst. Something in my head would get freaked out, and I would convince myself I wasn’t ready to exercise.

For the last few years, my body has felt stiff and weak, makes snapping and crunching noises when I move and has a rotating circuit of strange pains and a recurring spasm in the left hamstring. I know I’m healthy enough to feel stronger, flexible and not make funny noises when I stand up. I’m also too young to accept that these things are happening to my body!

I read the book, Younger Next Year by Chris Cowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D., to understand the full concept. Simply put, YNY is a philosophy of looking after yourself to moving into the next third feeling strong, healthy, and energetic. I could picture a few couples I admire that live this lifestyle, making it feel attainable for me.

I’ve started with an assessment with a physiotherapist. Needed a little tune-up to align my hips and am starting out slowly with walking, stretching and exercises using bands. I have to be honest, so far, I’ve not great at making time for these exercises in my daily activity.

I have many motivating factors to make exercise and nutrition a priority. Knowing that bone density loss is a possibility due to years of birth control pills, chemotherapy meds, and early menopause the importance of strength training is even more significant. If my body is making snap, crackle and pop sounds at 47, what is it going to be doing at 67?

I’ve just returned from a European holiday. I had such good intentions of beginning my exercises while on vacation. Until I arrived in Germany and the temperature was above 30C every day. There were few buildings with air conditioning, so I sure didn’t feel like exerting myself any more than necessary. I did walk more than 10,000 steps each day. I guess that was good preparation for regular exercise.

Today was my first day at the gym. I received my instructions to perform the exercises correctly and left on my own to complete the routine. I’m thrilled to say I did the sets, a little cardio, stretches and feel great! Not even a hint of a spasm from my left leg. Exercising feels promising. I will be back in the gym tomorrow.

It’s taken me longer to get started than I had hoped. Accountability and community come into play now. I’m accountable for the guidance I’ve asked for from Melissa, my physiotherapist. I’m committed to sharing this journey here on the blog to encourage others to increase their personal awareness of the five building blocks of YNY. This adventure will be fun! Ahh, finally I say goodbye to procrastination!!

I’ll share my journey into the commitment to the philosophy of living Younger Next Year. What I do to decrease stress as I embark on a career change. Nutrition is a big one, and I have tips on how to cook for one and eat well while not wasting food. Awareness of state of mind and understanding the mind-body connection as I work on the commitment to my overall health. For the flexibility and strength and cardiovascular pieces, I will consult with Blaine to share his expertise in these areas.

I’m kicking up the Sparkles a notch!

New and Improved!

Cynthia