Tag Archives: taking care of yoursel

DAY 50!

Tenor

My dog, Amber, doesn’t ‘yog’ with me, but she snuffles and nuzzles me each time I start my practice now, getting as close to me as possible, turning over on her back with her feet in the air, cavorting around, biting one foot, thoroughly delighting in yet another chance to be loved, make me laugh – and possibly get another cookie.

I can’t say I’ve built a ‘habit’ of daily yoga practice yet, but I’m definitely automatically making time for my practice each afternoon, choosing my yoga over other activities if I’m running short of time. If my husband is in his chair, I automatically bring him a throw as I flip the switch that starts the ceiling fan, turning it off when I finish.

Boat Pose

Yesterday I added another pose to my practice. It’s another pose that focuses on the core – or abdomen – specifically, called, “The Boat.” There are some other poses in that article that I’ll add as I go, but one new one at a time is enough for now.

I’m hoping that my daily practice will allow me to move as freely as possible, with as much flexibility and balance as I can without a lot of pain as I age. I would like to increase my stamina. Since I hope to live a lot longer, this is a really important goal for me. I want to be able to do what I’d like for as long as I can, enjoying freedom without a lot of fear of falling or breaking bones.

I’ve improved a lot on my stretching since I started my goal of daily practice 50 days ago today. I haven’t gotten any younger, but I’m able to stretch farther in each of the poses and hold the poses longer now, or do more repetitions. I’m able to do my ‘normal practice’ plus now look for a bit more to add. Good progress.

taolife.com

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Filed under aging, exercise, taking care of yourself

Crunchy

Veterinarian Bend Oregon

I’ve been doing my stretching yoga poses for several days in a row now and I’m definitely feeling looser. The thing I’m NOT is smarter.

I have proven to myself several times now that I hurt less, feel looser, AND feel better about myself when I do 30 minutes or so of yoga stretches (old lady version) every day. I even give myself a gold star on my desk calendar when I do my practice. And, yet, STILL it does not become a habit, where I notice and miss it when I don’t do it. I would really LIKE for that to happen.

Soon I will be another year older – (unless I get hit by a bus or something before then.) I would LIKE to be able to report that I am taking better care of myself – eating healthy food, eating reasonable portions, losing some of my lard, and moving easier with less pain, building a stronger core.

This is not merely a New Year’s Resolution. I am trying for a true lifestyle change. I am trying to take one day at a time, rather than being overwhelmed by the hugeness of the challenge. I have plans for what I’ll eat today. I will go do my 35 minutes on my elliptical as soon as I finish my blog posts here (and my coffee). We have errands to run and then I will do my 30 minutes of yoga this afternoon.

I will try to be better than I was yesterday.

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Filed under Attitude, DIET!, exercise, Healthy Eating, taking care of yourself

Getting the Lard Off Report – 07-05-2018

mashable.com

This is the end of Week 10 on Nutrisystem. I’ve lost 15 pounds and 15.8 inches. 

I’m a bit frustrated at my fumbling around on measuring myself. I’m following their suggestions, measuring in the bathroom where I can look in the mirror and make sure the measuring tape is level, etc., but I’m still coming up with different numbers from time to time. I guess the ‘flexibility’ in measuring can be factored in, assuming I screw up the same amount each week. As long as the general trend is downward, I’m happy.

Of course my husband, who just eats the food I bring him, not worrying about drinking water, exercising or anything else, has lost more weight than I have. I’m delighted for him, though, because he is a Type II diabetic. His blood sugar number this morning was 101. (normal is 100 or under.) His lowest reading to date was 96. I’m hoping that the A1C he has at the end of the month shows really good improvement. He told me last night that ‘it’s amazing that I’m losing weight and I’m never hungry.’ He is also really pleased that he gets to enjoy an orange or an apple each day – something he thought he would never be able to do again. His reaction so far is, “I don’t see why we can’t stay on Nutrisystem essentially forever.”

It’s a really good thing he feels this way because I have a lot of lard to lose and, though I’ve made progress, the weight is coming off slowly. I’m more pleased with the change in measurements, though there’s a long way to go there, as well. It’s so much easier when we’re both eating essentially the same thing. I’m not having to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen. I dash in, get a snack or we each grab a meal. I cut up raw veggies for lunch and a salad for dinner. Not a lot of time to think about food – always a good thing.

I will have ‘re-runs’ (a term I love that my friend Marsha uses) at lunch, and my husband will have one tonight for part of his dinner. The flex meals are still a work in progress, but we’re getting a bit more comfortable with it now.

I’ll feel a bit better when I’ve made enough progress that people begin to notice there isn’t as much of me as there used to be. :0)

 

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Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, Healthy Eating, taking care of yourself