Fictional or Freaky Friday

 

Freaky Friday! Freaky may not even be the word for it. Remember when authors took real life incidents and turned them into novels? I don’t know about you, but it feels like Stephen King’s novel The Stand turned real.

I haven’t been out in public all week. When we take our walk it is practically in the middle of the night so no one is around. I work from home so I talk to people all day long. Other than the weather, this virus dominates the conversation.

I am wondering what it will be like tomorrow when we go out for supplies. I’m scared because I think eventually this virus is going to get someone I know and care about and that is going to suck. I am trying to deal with the anxiety that I’m feeling. The early morning walks help. Joe is encouraging me and very supportive, but I can tell he has some apprehension about the whole thing as well. He’s very good at covering it up, but I know when something is bothering him.

I wish I had some great solutions to make you all feel better. If anything stepping on the scale today might bring a smile to your face. I know I was surprised to see the missing pounds. All I can say is try to stay positive. Do what you know is the right thing to do. Don’t give up on your lifestyle change. This won’t last forever. Once this is determined it is no longer a pandemic, we’ll be ready to take on the next challenge.

See ya on the flip side,

Leftovers

Leftovers are my favorite thing about St. Patrick’s Day. We love Reuben’s and if you make them right they aren’t all that high in calories. I wouldn’t suggest a steady diet of them but this is a lifestyle change we are working on, not a diet. Don’t give up the things you love, just eat or drink them in moderation.

Joe pushed us a little harder on the walk. He always does when we have something a little higher in calorie than a salad. It is hard when we are doing it. But when you think about it, does anyone look like they are having fun when they are exercising? If it were a fun thing, everyone would be doing it and no one would be fat.

Drink your water today. Get out there and take some steps. Be sure to social distance yourself now.

Until next time, stay motivated! 

Roadblocks

The sun had not yet risen and there was a mist of fog hovering just above the dirt road we walk each morning. Some days light from the moon guides our path. In this instance I was wearing one of those coal-miner headlights. It is bright as the sun, if it shines in your eyes. I know what a deer in the headlight feels like.

We were walking along at a pretty good pace, talking about the day ahead of us. Joe always has a plan. Plans on top of plans. There is never a day of boredom, and never a day of not having something to do. If you need something, let us know, he can find you something to do.

We spied something up ahead in the road. We thought it was going to be animals and we were excited. I really wanted to get a great deer picture. It was dark. Typically an animals eyes will glow in the light. I was not seeing any eyes. Joe walked faster and got ahead of me. I got my phone ready for pictures. As we got closer the objects didn’t move.

What a sad thing to come up on. How sad that we live in a place where people have no respect for the environment. The dump/transfer station/recycling and collection center (whatever it is that it’s called these days) is not more than four miles away, yet some idiot decided to dump their trash all over the road. PIGS!

We pressed onward and forward and tried not to let that bother us. It is a sad place that we live when people do crappy things like that. As we finished the walk and the sun was just beginning to come over the horizon, we looked up and saw a figure in the sky.

Batman is protecting Gotham City. Goodwill prevails over all evil. Press onward my friends. Don’t let the bad things get in your way.

Until next time,

Walk the Talk

Are you a doer or a raconteur? Before we started this 9 week journey I used to tell Joe all the time I would get on the machine. I promised I would do it three times a week. I knew I needed to exercise. Working at home has benefits, but it also can proliferate bad habits. I wanted to exercise but I just didn’t have the motivation to do it.

Joe was adamant. Every day he would spend an hour or more on that machine. He had a personal trainer. Dr. Tommy Rivers Puzey took him on runs through Costa Rica. Quite honestly, I was beginning to get jealous. I wanted to see what was so special about this Tommy dude. One day I did what I said I was going to do, and stepped up to the machine. I started to spend a little time with Dr. Tommy. Not much, a couple days a week. It got me moving a little more than what I was (which was none). He’s a very personable guy. I started looking forward to seeing him three days a week. He has some good training videos if you have an elliptical, Nordic-track, or other form of training equipment with video. But, all good things come to an end, and I don’t know if I jinxed it or not, but, the machine broke. That was JANUARY 10TH. Machine is still down. (Gotta hand it to Nordic Track customer service…they are expedient — NOT).

That was when we decided to put on our running shoes and get out there and do it the old fashion way. Mother Nature. There is nothing quite like fresh air. It does a body good. Hence came the blog and the road to fitness. Here we are, 9 weeks later and 10 pounds less. Making the talk reality, makes the walk turn into something you can be proud of. When we first started walking, I could barely keep up with Joe. I know I was slowing him down. It was taking me 18-20 minutes to do a mile. We’re doing them in about 16 minutes now, depending on the terrain (if it’s wet and slippery, takes a little longer).

Don’t be a talker. Don’t procrastinate and say you’ll do it tomorrow. That machine breaking down was the best thing that happened for me. With a machine most people (me for one) think that we can do it whenever we want and procrastination sets in. Joe was not like that. He’s disciplined and that’s a rare trait in most people.

Walk the talk don’t just talk the walk. Whatever it takes to move more — MOVE! Be it a machine, be it a video (remember Sweating to the Oldies with Richard Simmons?), whatever it is that you enjoy doing, do it. I promise you will feel better about yourself. You will notices changes.

Little things consistently turn into big changes permanently.

Later, 

Monday Motivation

Every day there is a new struggle to beat. The calves hurt, new blisters have appeared in places you didn’t know you had. The television continually shows commercials of juicy hamburgers, fried chicken and all the chocolate covered rabbits for upcoming Easter baskets. Even the scent of bacon and eggs finds way to your nostrils when you get out there for the morning walk.

Does it ever get easy? No! Every day brings a new challenge to face. Every day is a new chance to change your life. If it’s not challenging you, it’s not changing you. It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.  “…let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us…” The secret to succeeding is changing daily routines. Eventually the hard part will be your warm up. You can do this. 

Just a little Monday motivational speech. It’s a brand new week. Let’s do it!

Until next time,