Livin' La Vida Nightgown~

 

I'm blushing a bit as I confess post this😳

I have been living in thin cotton nightgowns more often than not this summer, as we've had days upon unending days of triple digit (Fahrenheit), heat advisory/excessive heat warnings. I've said (ad nauseum 🫣) that I don't do well in our heat, so wearing the coolest garments possible has been my saving grace. They have literally kept me from experiencing the nausea and other unpleasant symptoms I have become accustomed to in past summers that even my coolest of dresses never helped.

Do I feel weird wearing nightgowns most days? For 'bout a split second. And then I remind myself that I am doing it for my health so that I feel good, not out of laziness (it actually has helped me be more productive this summer since I feel better more often). I then throw an apron on and carry on with my day.

Let's all take care of ourselves unapologetically (as long as we aren't hurting anyone else with our actions-I don't wear my nightgowns when I'm out & about 😆). Stay cool & hydrate!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sign me,

Livin' la vida nightgown

 

Daily Selfie 2023 ~ BFL Challenge

I have officially been accepted into the latest challenge offered by the author of these books! I have had Bill's BFL and EFL books for several years now and refer to them often. To say I am over the moon excited to be included in this team challenge is an understatement! Between losing myself in the midst of a perfect storm of simultaneously navigating the final year of our youngest child's high school years and my spouse's stroke along with the aftermath of it, the ensuing journey of being a caregiver had left me comfortably numb. I turned to food for comfort. (heck, I just plain turned to comfort for comfort!) Add to that, I have always considered myself to be a binge eater and food addict. 

I need to start taking better care of myself and put myself as a priority also. I want to rebuild and regain my health. I recently had surgery to remove cancer and have that healing journey ahead of me now as well.

My goal for the challenge is to lose 25 lbs and gain energy and strength. I have never been a highly energetic person even in my younger days (I've always compared myself to a luxury vehicle...built for comfort, not for speed, lol) I don't have aspirations of looking like a fitness model, I just need the stamina to navigate my daily life, which is sorely lacking for me right now.

This is me on day one of the twelve week challenge. I'm in the middle of enjoying a post walk/"trot"(~entry level jog😉) protein shake. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by! 

xo,

TJ

Three More Tips I Use to shake the "Blues"

During my previous posts here and here , I discussed a couple of simple ways I use to shake the "blues". Now, if I haven't already said it, if you are struggling with severe depression, these may not help and you should seek counsel to help get through it. Whether that be a physician, clergyman, counselor or any of the other qualified personnel out there that are trained in that area, there are people that can help you through this season of life. And I am not any of those. These tips are just some that have helped me while I was going through some sad times.

Here are a few more things that I implement to help chase away that dark cloud that was hanging over my head for the past three years. I didn't try to do all these things all at once. I was gentle with myself but I also had to push myself a little to get off my butt and change things. It was way too easy to just space out in front of the television if I didn't show myself a little tough love.

1. Nutrition. When I eat more healthy, fresh foods I just feel better. You may need to take this in baby steps. I did. Most days I just did not feel like preparing any food that took any amount of effort other than opening a bag or box. But try just having a grab and peel piece of fruit or premade salad. Bagged and washed baby carrots or any other prewashed, bagged fresh fruit or vegetable. When you make it as easy to eat the fresh, live food as it is to eat the bag or box of junky comfort food, there is no longer that excuse. And if all you can do to start off is eat ONE serving a day, that's something. Then you can build upon that. Make it a goal to add another serving of fruit or vegetable a day each week until you are eating several servings a day! I know when I eat better, I feel better.
2. Movement. What that looks like for me is whatever is low impact, quick and easy. I have a short legged mini dachshund that is thrilled with a walk around a couple of blocks. And I'm cool with that too. Most days it only takes 15 to 25 minutes, depending on how much sniffing and marking she feels like doing. She gets her fresh air and exercise and so do I. And, honestly, as much as I dreeeeeaaaad it most days, by the time we get back home, my spirits are lifted. But, if that's more than you are ready for right now go back to just going outside and sitting in the fresh air and sunshine. Maybe you can talk yourself into standing up and doing a few gentle stretches before you go back inside. Or two minutes of yoga. Or one minute of jogging in place. Something, anything to let your body know that you are still alive. Love yourself enough to take the time to do something. You're worth it.
3. Appearance. Take a look in the mirror. Are you still wearing your nightgown? A ratty, stained tshirt and saggy butt sweatpants? Have you brushed your hair today? For a while there, and even now some days, putting on makeup and something halfway decent to wear was reserved (and even then, begrudgingly) for days I had to leave the house to run errands or go to appointments. I finally got to the point that I challenged myself to, at a minimum, put on a little makeup (foundation or powder, a little lip gloss, a sweep of blush, and mascara) to get rid of the death-warmed-over look and change into something presentable yet comfortable it might even be sweatpants and a tshirt but it had to be nicer sweatpants and tshirts and they couldn't be the ones I slept in the night before). When I look better, I feel better.

I hope some of these simple (not necessarily easy when you are down in the dumps) tips that have helped me (and continue to help me...I'm still struggling, believe me) can help you. And if you have any great tips along these lines, I would love to hear them!

The main thing, is give yourself permission to feel all the emotions you have to feel but also, try not to get too comfortable there. There is still life to be lived and you deserve a beautiful, happy life. So, nudge yourself oh so gently off the couch, out of the bed and do something towards feeling better as soon as you are able.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Another Tip for Shaking the "Blues"

For all my good intentions to write another post sooner than this, well wouldn't ya know, I got sick with a nasty cold right after Thanksgiving. Ugh. As I sit here writing from my bed, I'm feeling somewhat better, but as soon as I think I should get up and catch up on all that has gotten behind this past week, another wave of ick washes over me. Maybe that's psychological, lol.

I hope anyone that might read this had a good one if you celebrate the holiday. I cooked for our little family---my husband, myself, our daughter, grown son and grandson. I worked for three days cooking and was happy to have the leftovers so, at least meals weren't an issue when I was sick. One thing I discovered during the prep of all the traditional fare for my family members, was a recipe for myself, which I guess if you would give a label to is a lacto, ovo, pescatarian *giggle*. (In other words, I try not to eat chicken, pork or beef.) I wanted an entree for myself to go with all the side dish delights. As fate would have it, I ran across this vegetarian meatloaf recipe. I made my own onion soup mix using this onion soup recipe located within the article. The final product was a tad salty for my taste, and I don't know if that's because I substituted my own onion soup recipe or not but overall, taking a bite of "meatloaf" along with some mashed potatoes cut the saltiness and was very good. Next time I think I will leave out the sea salt that the onion soup recipe calls for. If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think!

My last post touched a bit on the struggle I've gone through dealing with the aftermath of my husbands stroke. I don't really want to dwell on that. The reason I brought it up is to offer a few deceptively simple ways that have helped me cast off the darkness of that time and start to feeling like "me" again.

One day at a doctor's appointment for something totally unrelated, my doctor suggested, after I had broken down in tears in her office, that I should take some time for myself. Get out of the house, see a movie, go sit in a coffee shop. I couldn't well be expected to focus the entirety of my existence on staying home with my spouse. "Have one of the (grown) kids stop in and hang out for a while with him while you take a break and get out for a while."

She didn't know that, at that time and for a long time, just motivating myself to take a bath (I'm a bath girl) every day was quite the chore. Let alone bathing and getting presentable enough to go out into the general population. Just thinking about it exhuasted me. And some days it still does. But not every day. 

What I decided I could do is walk outside, into my own back yard, with my frumpy self and just sit in the sunshine and fresh air. If just for five minutes (and some days that's all it was-I'm very fair and can't take much sun and heat). And it helped. 

So today's suggestion is: get outside for a bit. Breathe some fresh air. Feel the sun on your face. 

And don't forget to try to smile.
 

Three Years and Two Months Later- Shaking the "Blues"

Photo credit: dreamstime.com

September 12, 2012 rocked our world. My soul mate had a stroke that left him in the hospital for a month, and in physical therapy for many more months afterward. It left him without feeling in the left side of his body. Well, except for pain. Excruciating pain called thalamic pain syndrome. It left us navigating months of major change in our marriage and family life. And because I've never been good at handling change, especially one of this magnitude, I found myself in a sad and lonely place. I went through all the stages of grief and settled somewhere in a neighborhood known as Comfortably Numb. Not a great place to live.

I'm happy to say, after three years and two months of struggling in this state,  I'm starting to climb my way out of the deep, dark hole I let myself fall into. It's taking daily effort and I'm sure I will still have days I struggle, but I am embracing the fact that I'm beginning to feel like "me" again. And that's a wonderful feeling I wasn't sure I would ever experience again.

That's why I've been absent from my little online journal here. 

Sure, I realize there are worse fates in life, I don't discredit those going through them. This is just my reality and I'm ashamed to say, I haven't handled it as well as others handle things that happen to them that are so much worse.

So, now I'm ready to write. To get it off my chest. And share what I'm doing to take baby steps back to more balance and normalcy in my life. Our new normal. Maybe in baring my soul, (which I'm not really all that good at) it can help someone else going through ______________ (fill in the blank).

I'll be back. But for today, smile. Just smile. Ever so often, I just force my mouth muscles into a smile and just hold it there. Not a creepy, crazy smile. Just a "content with this moment" smile. And surprisingly, it lifts my mood ever so slightly. That can be MAJOR.

~TJ

Sunday Morning Smoothie

Sunday Morning Smoothie 

This morning, I decided to have a protein smoothie for breakfast.  My smoothies never

follow a particular recipe (except once when I tried to follow a recipe.  But after several

days of shopping at different stores trying to find the special ingredients-with no luck-I

decided to go back to my way.). My recipe is always just simply recipes of

experimentation. 

I make different types of smoothies: protein smoothies, fruit smoothies and green

smoothies. And as I've mentioned before, I always use what I have on hand. Sometimes

the "experiment" turns out yumilicious and sometimes they turn out, well, not so great. 

This morning was yumilicious.

I used *1 scoop of protein powder, 1/2 teaspoon of matcha green tea powder, a handful of

 

frozen blueberries, most of a whole frozen banana, 4 cubes of frozen plain yogurt (which

 

I freeze when the yogurt is getting close to it's expiration date), 4 frozen strawberries, 1/2

 

cup of apple juice and 1/2 cup of water. At the last minute (and why it's not pictured) I

 

decided to add a tablespoon of ground flax seed for more fiber. I popped all the

 

ingredients in my ninja blender and voila! Breakfast!

Now, I may never make this exact "recipe" again. But only because being the frugal girl

that I am, if I don't have this combo of ingredients on hand again, it ain't gonna happen.

But...there's always tomorrow, and I still have the ingredients...

 

Have a great day y'all!~TJ 

*I purchased all these products myself

Checking In

I wanted to stop in & say "hey" after another loooonnnng absence!

After riding a precarious roller coaster with my hubby's health for so long, I'm hoping we are finally seeing some light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. He has just begun seeing a new pain specialist at the nearby university hospital, she changed his meds and they seem to be working so much better than the others he had been taking that were offering little to no relief for his constant, excruciating pain. Because he is feeling so much more relief, we were able to spend the last couple of days out doing some shopping for things for the garden and other miscellaneous goodies.

Needless to say, since he is feeling better, I am feeling better. Not only for him, but because I know that he isn't suffering as much, it has freed my mind and spirit to become more productive and (obviously) less constantly stressed. Many prayers have been answered!

Anyway, I'm still here and since I have missed my little blog so, I'm hoping to share snippets of my life more often again. One thing I'm so excited about is a delicious oatmeal cream pie cake inspired by a certain cute little hat wearin' girl whose name begins with a "D" that I came up with for the fam recently. It's gotten two thumbs and two big toes ( ;) ) up from hubby so it's definitely a keeper. Oh...DD, DF (Dollface our mini weanie) and I love it too! So if my camera cooperates, I'll be sharing that soon! 

Take care, and if anyone is still out there..."see ya soon!~TJ

No Meals But Exercise

I'm not going to record my meals today because I wasn't very good in making the best choices. I did have a couple of cups of fruit/veggie smoothie and a handful of almonds so all my food choices weren't bad, but too many were, involving sweets & simple carbs. Ugh.

I did ride for twenty minutes on the recumbent bike but didn't go walking in the rain.

Here's to better choices tomorrow!~TJ

Meals, Snacks & Exercise

In an attempt to keep track of what I'm eating so I don't lose focus on my objectives of getting healthier, I'm recording my meals &, snacks as boring as it may be to any poor soul that happens to stumble upon my blog, lol!
I do find it is keeping me more aware of what and how much I'm eating on a daily basis and actually causes me to think through what I eat even when tempted by not so healthy things. Like today...

Upon awakening: 1 reg coffee & 1 decaf coffee both with 1 teaspoon each of heavy cream.

Meal 1:  1/2 egg white veggie omelette, sliced tomatoes

Meal 2: the other half of my egg white veggie omelette & sliced tomatoes

Snack: 7 candy corns (craving sweets BUT used portion control)

Meal 3: brown rice & mushroom recipe I tried. It contained cream of mush soup, butter, brown rice and addition fresh mushrooms.    1 &  1/2 cups. Dessert: I treated myself to 2 rectangles of Hersheys dark chocolate. Again, portion control, which for me is HUGE.

Drinks throughout the day: unsweetened iced green tea, water

I took my dog for a twenty minute walk and then also went for a 45 minute spin on the new recumbent bike we bought yesterday (& hubby put together today!).

Todays Meals & Snacks

I find that the more I incorporate the extra fruits and vegetables into my daily diet, the less I crave the usual junk that I normally am drawn to. Interesting.

Today-

Upon awakening: 1 cup reg. coffee with 1 tsp cream & 1 cup decaf wih 1 tsp. cream

"Meal" 1: 2 1/2 cups fruit & veggie smoothie (leftover from last night)

Snack: 1 oz. natural unsalted almonds

Snack: 5 of those new Burger King lower fat & calorie French fries, "satisfries" is what I think they're called. Out running errands & shopping & wanted a little something before I went into starvation mode (which could equal binge mode if I'm not careful).

"Meal" 2: BK fish sandwich, large lettuce & tomato salad (w/ mung bean sprouts) & lemon vinaigrette

Snack: banana "shake" made with only frozen bananas, rice milk & a bit of Truvia

I did weigh in today so every Thursday will be my weigh in day.

Have a great day!~TJ

Some Objectives of Mine

I thought I would post some things I would like to work toward with my eating and nutrition and the "whys" behind them. These are "for now" as I'm sure, like the oceans tide, they may change.

Objective 1- Weight loss of 50 pounds. This is the big one. For aesthetic purposes, yeah. But the main reason is that I want to be vibrantly healthy as I get older, not sick and suffering as I am now. And I believe that a healthy weight is the foundation in many other health related issues.

Objective 2- Get off my blood pressure meds. Which I believe is tied into Objective 1.

For now, those are two lofty goals I'd like to focus on in my journey for better nutrition. Again, this is for me and I realize food and nutrition are very, very personal. I'm not trying to preach to anyone. I'm just recording this journey so I can look back to see any changes and how long they may have taken.

How do I plan to obtain these objectives? For starters, I am aiming for more fruits & veggies in my diet. And portion control.

That's it. For now. I don't want to overwhelm myself as I have always done in the past by trying too much, too soon, getting overwhelmed, losing focus & then quitting. I tend to be all or nothing in so many areas but find that that tendency backfires on me all too often.

So, for now that's it. If I can maintain these simple changes, I feel I'll be on my way to great changes!

With visions of broccoli and berries in my head~TJ

Meals & Movement

As I've alluded to previously, this past year has taken it's toll. As many of us do when faced with a loved ones illness, we put ourselves on the back burner. It's all a matter of priorities.

Some days, I don't put on makeup or go beyond making sure I'm bathed, wearing clean, presentable clothes that aren't too slobby looking and popping in some earrings so I look like I've put in some effort.

Yeah. It's been pretty bad. Because that's really soooo not like me. I've always enjoyed primping, wearing makeup, jewelry, nice clothes, smelling purty and getting out of the house once in a while. And while this past year hasn't been the cause of my excess weight-I've been carrying around a good (bad) extra 50-60 pounds for a few years now-the stress of it all sure isn't helping matters. I also find that since I'm heavier than I would like to be, I'm not compelled to dress up this package and, heaven forbid, draw attention to myself. Some women, I've heard, overcompensate by wearing extra makeup etc., to distract from the fat. I'm the opposite. I guess it's all a matter of perspective in how you view your camouflage.

Anyway, to add insult to injury, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure a while back, which I don't have to tell you, could lead to devastating health complications. Oh, and let's not forget, mildly high cholesterol. In spite of all that, I still have the bad eating habits that I established in my youth: binging, emotional eating, and a few sweet teeth the size of Texas y'all. It's all a viscous cycle exacerbated by stress. Oh. And even my weenie dog's fat. Something's reeeeally gotta give.

Today my meals & snacks look a little something like this (keep in mind, I don't eat on a strict schedule at set times so that's why I label my eating times as I do):

Upon awakening: 2 cups of coffee with a teaspoon of heavy cream in each (heavy cream=a delicious indulgence/habit started in my Somersizing WOE days)

"Meal" 1: One cup of fruit/veggie smoothie (contained spring salad mix, broccoli florets, mung bean sprouts, pineapple, banana, strawberry, apple, mango, grapes, blackberries, water) . Threw it all in my Ninja the night before for morning convenience...and to not wake the whole household up to the blending noise.
One ounce of natural, unsalted almonds.

"Meal" 2: One and a half Lean Pockets 3 Cheese Spinach (whole) & spinach, artichoke & chicken (half).

"Meal" 3: 3 cups of fruit/veggie smoothie (broccoli, mung bean sprouts, celery, carrot, grapes, pineapple, banana, cantaloupe, lemon juice,  maqui juice and water. Oh, and a couple of packets of Truvia to counteract the tartness of the lemon juice! *pucker*)
I know to some, these smoothies might sound disgusting but I like them and I am getting in a greater variety of fruits and veggies than if I were to try to eat all the different items separately and whole. I don't follow a recipe, I use what  have on hand. I hope to eventually work up to a higher veggie to fruit ratio.

Snack: 1 ounce of Tostitos & 2 Tablespoons of salsa

Beverages (throughout the day): unsweetened green/black tea blend, iced; water; hot herbal tea, unsweetened

I have been trying to get out in the evenings and walk my pup but since today was fairly busy taking hubby around for errands and shopping, I was whipped by the time we got home so our walk didn't happen. I just made an effort to chase her around the house for a bit playing "I'm gonna get you". She loves that! (: It gets us both up & moving, *giggle*.

I want to add that, while I don't want to be a slave to counting calories, carbs etc., I don't mind measuring & weighing so that I have right portions when necessary.



my handy, dandy, trusty food scale

Thanks for stopping by & here's to a happy, healthy YOU!~TJ

PS~I totally forgot to weigh myself this morning...

Diet: Something's Gotta Give

After watching my sweet hubby go through his health issues this last year, it has made me realize I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. DOWN. THAT. ROAD. PERIOD.

Peer-eee-od.

'Cause it ain't been pretty. And I have decided that if I don't do everything within my power to age healthily then, well...shame on me. What a fool I will be.

Now just so any of you high minded, know-it-all, sassy, young 'uns who might be reading this and going through that lovely "I'm invincible and will never die" time of life are thinkin' "who are you trying to fool? You won't live forever, so why not live it up? Enjooooooy life!" Well, I know I won't live forever (but I do plan to live to at least 144 :D ) And if I'm going to live that long, I want to be as healthy and vital as possible. I don't wish to be a burden on my family, live in some sort of home while dying a slow death or have someone wipe my butt. And I figure that if I don't do what I believe I should be doing for my health and I end up in one of those fashions, shame on me. However, I do understand that we can do everything possible, be healthy as a (healthy) horse, and still have a devastating, traumatic health catastrophe happen to us. But still, NOT to try and treat our bodies as the temple it is would just be wrong.

I've said before that I have major food issues. Food addiction if you will. If it's fattening, creamy, decadent, down home, junky, sweet, salty, crunchy, crispy, ooey, gooey, Paula Deen-ized, super sized, chewy, chocolatey, fried, drizzled upon, iced, frosted, candy/candylike, cake/cakelike, cookie/cookielike...(well, shall I go on?), I LOVE it. And to add to the food addiction, I have a condition: I have a large amount of lead in my butt. And that makes it very difficult for me to move. At. All. 

No...really.

And since I've tried (no, I haven't "tried them all") enough diets to know I'm OVER them, I have given it a lot of thought and come up with this: I need to do something. And I need to do something that 1) works for me; 2) I could conceivably do the rest of my life and not feel that it's an imposition; 3) allow me to eat anything I choose and not forbid any food and...(drumroll) 4) (MOST IMPORTANTLY TO ME) be healthy. Because I've already been diagnosed with high blood pressure and mildly high cholesterol so we know where that can lead if not kept in check. And honestly, I would love to reverse those conditions and not have to take those meds and then I could be med free. (Not a bad thing for a fiddy year old.)

What does all this mean TO ME (not wanting to come off as an expert or pretend I have all the answers for others since food and "dieting" is such a personal issue)? What I've concluded is this: I feel I need to 1) eat more veggies and fruits; 2) implement some semblance of portion control (ugh) and 3) move my oh-so-sedentary body. For now, that's it. Sounds simple enough. But can I carry it out? Do it meal after meal, day after day?

So, here's a what I'm a gonna do. I'm gonna keep track of my meals, snacks & what not on here as a journal of sorts, since this is really intended to be a journal for me anyway in general. And yes, I've started record keeping before and life got in the way (I MUST quit allowing that to happen!). So, tomorrow, I will weigh in (won't be sharing that number with the general population however), and begin posting and sharing the journey.

I can begin by saying this:

• As of this moment, I'm 5'5"
• a size *semi-tight* 16 (but I refuse to buy any bigger sizes. Just wont do it.).
• My blood pressure remains in a good normal range with meds.

Here's to great, fantastic, super, excellent health!~TJ

Wheatgrass

We were out shopping in the wee hours of the evening (my favorite time to grocery shop 'cause it's nice & quiet), and strolling through the produce section, at the organics (teeny tiny) area, what do my wondering eyes should appear? A patch o' grass. Not just any grass mind you, but Wheatgrass! 

I asked my consultant, and right hand girl (DD) if she thought we should get it. After a bit of girly chit chat and debate, we decided, YES, we should. YOLO as she always says.

So, we put it in our basket and handled it with the care you would when bringing a newborn home (except we had the cashier put 'er in a plastic bag in case she leaked o: )

Got home and felt compelled to give hubby the disclaimer of what the latest crazy, growing oddity *cough*kombucha*cough* he would walk in on in the kitchen would be. He gave me that blank guy look, indicating he had no earthly idea what I just said, just wanting to be able to get back to watching whatever it was he was watching.

So far, I've snipped of about a one inch square to add to a smoothie (don't plan on buying a wheatgrass juicer~right now my highest hopes is that it lives).

If anyone reading this knows anything about taking care of wheatgrass, please share...

For now, I need to research this thing...

Thanks for stopping by to meet my wheatgrass!~TJ

Hugs~TJ

PS~Hey y'all, I'm on Instagram! Come "follow" me why don'tcha?!

I'm Really Bad at This

Blogging that is.

No matter what my best intentions are, I go off & do things like enjoy the spring break week with my daughter (which I did!) or just turn into Patrick (from Spongebob), brain flat lining in front of the television (minus the drooling). Stuff like that.

And then I get out of the well intentioned habit to check in more often with my bloggy journal.

I'm a majorly flawed human with the discipline sometimes of a...oh, I don't know, whatever is TOTALLY undisciplined (senior moment in the "right word" category right now (; )

And the fact that my personal laptop is begging to be put out of it's misery so blogging isn't always easy for me. Literally, NOT EASY.

Can you love me like I am?

On to where I left off in my bloggy thoughts:

Fifty days to 50. I continue, but did quit adding things to focus on and decided I was happy with the list I came up with and decided to focus on those things.

Except for last night, I decided I needed to start brewing and drinking kombucha again. For reasons I'll discuss later.

I feel better about the changes and "focuses" I'm implementing. Little changes add up in the long run and take us to new places in life. Almost imperceptibly. One day we wake up and ask ourselves "how did I get here?".  I want to like the answer. (:

Fifty Days to 50~Day 17

Well, the past few days have knocked me off my path, some, but not completely. I did what I could each day, depending on what I felt I could manage without putting too much pressure on myself.

Now, I'm feeling a bit better and am ready to hop right back on that horse!

For todays focus I want to start adding at least one salad to my meals each day. I must confess, I can be quite childish about my meals. I like easy to grab, yummy to eat stuff. Preferably sweets, and of those sweets, preferably chocolate. I know it's wrong. And I struggle constantly.

So a salad a day it will be! Added to my previous days focuses.

Updating the last several days would be sad to look at so I will pass on it for now.

Hope you are enjoying your day!

Fifty Days to 50~Day 9

Facemaster (from Suzanne Somers)

I have a little device called the Facemaster that operates on a microcurrent to help stimulate the facial muscles thus giving a "facelift". I am actually on my second one. The first one still works but the newer one is just easier.

My focus is to use this machine at least five days of the week. Ideally, I would say everyday, but I will feel good about doing at least 5 out of seven.

That is what I will be adding to days 1-8.

Now, the moment of truth:

*Yesterdays Update:

I did all but stretching!
These are all small things and sometimes I am able to do them all and some days I don't/can't get to them all. That's okay. It's better than doing nothing good for myself!

Have a beautiful day!

Fifty Days to 50~Day 8

Supplements...

My day 8 focus is going to be on taking my vitamins and other supplements more diligently. Mainly, I want to focus on getting, what I consider to be the most important ones in each day. Namely, a multi vitamin, calcium, magnesium, potassium and CoQ10. I have many more that I try to take each day but sometimes the sheer number of them becomes overwhelming, the day gets away from me or I just simply can't stand to swallow one. more. pill.

So now adding upon days 1-7, I will focus on getting at least that core group of supplements in each day and if I can manage the others, or even SOME of the others, I will feel that I'm doing pretty good!

*Yesterdays Update:
I'm going to go about listing these in a different way so as to not take up a lot of space or a lot of time for anyone who might be reading/following along.

I did everything except the dieter's tea and the stretching.

Have a great day!

Fifty Days to 50~Day 7

PM Dieters Tea

Today I want to add in a cup of dieter's tea. The brand I am going to use is something I already have in my pantry. It's called Laci LeBeau's Super Dieters Tea. I have to work a bit harder than I did when I was younger at watching my weight. Right now, I'm working at not gaining MORE weight and when I get a handle on that, I hope to start shedding a few pounds. Slowly but healthfully!

So now, in addition to my

1) 10 minutes of daily exercise

2) Starting my day with 8 ounces of warm lemon water AND continuing to hydrate throughout the day.

3) Focus on good posture.

4) Taking deep cleansing breaths several times a day.

5) Taking time out for an occasional stretch throughout the day.

6) Drinking a cup of detox tea daily.

I will add:

7) Drinking a cup of dieters tea after dinner each evening.

*Yesterdays Update:

1) I did ten minutes of exercise. It was a hodgpodge of different one's throughout the day but it all added up!

2) I think the lemon water in the morning thing is catching on with me!

3) Posture check, check!

4) Yes, I did my deep breathing!

5) Stretch, I did!

6) :(  No detox tea.

Five out of six ain't bad! Baby steps, baby steps...

Fifty Days to 50~Day 6

AM Detox Tea~

I want to (sometime after warm lemon water and coffee) make a daily habit of incorporating a detox tea. Right now in my pantry I have this:



but will keep my eye out for other possible detox teas.

In addition to my

1) 10 minutes of daily exercise

2) Starting my day with 8 ounces of warm lemon water AND continuing to hydrate throughout the day.

3) Focus on good posture.

4) Taking deep cleansing breaths several times a day.

5) Taking time out for an occasional stretch throughout the day.

I will add:

6) Drinking a cup of detox tea daily.

*Yesterdays Update:

1) I did some exercise, but not 10 minutes worth.

2) I did drink my morning lemon water and continued drinking water throughout the day.

3) I kept my posture in check.

4) I took a deep breath here and there throughout my day.

5) I did a bit of stretching but want to build upon it, adding a little more each day.

All these little changes will add up over time and will lead to (hopefully) life long healthy habits!

Have a healthy day!