Dear Reader,
I have begun to try the rebooting process and, I can tell you, it's been a rough go!
I put together a nice set of floor exercises to start with, and decided to not try to go to the YMCA in the afternoons for a while. I have not heard back from my physical therapist yet about getting conditioning training from her. But the idea of only doing floor exercises was genius and I think it is going to be productive. When I'm ready to add in aerobics I think I will start doing water aerobics since I read that the force of the water on your legs and lower bodies keeps your blood from pooling there and therefore your blood pressure won't drop or your heart race.
I've gotten in my magnesium supplements and the mineral drops to put in your water, but not the magnesium lotion yet. I also read that I should be soaking in Epsom salts with baking soda two or three times a week. I get the Epsom salts part, but wonder why the baking soda? I haven't tried the mineral drops yet, primarily because the instructions were too small for me to read! Then I made out that it says to dilute it a lot because of the strong mineral taste. So ... that's on the back burner for a few days till I get my nerve up. I also got in the Seriphos and something for stress reduction from Swann's. These are to lower cortisol levels, but I don't remember how or when I'm supposed to take them and need to check that out tomorrow.
I have really been applying myself to the going to sleep and getting up problems. Two days isn't long enough to tell anything, but I think I am on the right track. I tried listening to a go-to-sleep meditation last night, but the guy talked constantly telling you to breathe, squeeze a muscle group, release your breath, relax this muscle group. It felt good, but was no meditation! Definitely kept me in the beta waves!
Yesterday I woke up pretty easily, but I'm not sure why. Then that evening I went to our university's basketball game and was so exhausted by the time I got home that I could have cried. I set my alarm to get 9 hours of sleep, but then dawdled getting to bed and probably only got 8 hours, which is not enough for me. When I am really tired I need ten hours. Trying to wake up was agony! I was dead asleep and struggled so hard to get up. I did finally get to the shower to wash my hair ... and remembered why I hate morning showers. You have to STAND UP and standing up is the whole problem! If you lay or sit down, you get the water in your face. So, morning showers when I have to wash my hair are out and I'll be going back to baths!
I remained sluggish most of the day, well into the afternoon. Tomorrow is Saturday and I am looking forward to sleeping as late as I want to!
I am enjoying the morning meditation routine. Very refreshing. Adding in an afternoon session might be more possible now that I'm realizing how good it makes you feel.
My only nutrition goals are to reduce my inflammation levels. This means not eating any of my thirty or so food allergies or intolerances. This makes life really difficult, but I've been holding on to this very consistently. My only other nutrition goal is to really reduce my sugar intake. Perhaps I should get the chocolate no-bake cookies my daughter made New Year's Eve out of the refrigerator!
My going to sleep routine is going pretty well, except that I keep getting hungry and having to get out of bed to get something to eat. I'm taking two hydroxyzene tablets and two SedaLin capsules (by Xymogen) at night. The hydroxyzene is something I am taking to reduce the number of allergic reactions I have. The SedaLin is a supplement that is supposed to help you go to sleep and lower cortisol levels. They do make me drowsy. Then I get in bed, write out my to-do list and what I want to go over with my housekeeper the next day, read, take a half or a whole Xanax, and turn out the light. So far so good. Right now I'm reading real literature ... The Hunger Games! For the second time! I'm trying to slow down my consumption of the Louise Penny novels about Inspector Gamache!
Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm going to have to do a significant grocery trip. I didn't make it to the store at all and have just been foraging through my cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer for meals. But we are supposed to have a severe cold spell and maybe four inches of snow. I live in the South where we freak out at the first sign of snow! So the stores are likely to be packed as everyone stocks up I preparation of being snowed in for a month ... or that's what you would think they were doing if you saw how much they bought! The grocery store managers are very happy people when there is snow in the weather forecast!
I was so sluggish today that I never got out of the house to go to lunch. But I did make a salad in the late afternoon with some turkey lunch meat, guacamole, and pistachios which was delicious.
Then my husband and I went on our date-night. At dinner we banished the bread basket and both ordered from the under-500-calories menu. Then we went to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is a beautiful movie! We had unbuttered popcorn and a Coke Zero and did not have our usual peanut butter M&Ms. So, yeah us!
I would say I am off to a rocky start, but at least I have started. The reason I am writing this blog is to keep myself accountable, with or without followers! I'd also like to keep in my mind what I'm trying to do and that time is fleeting!! I'm not just trying to keep on with the same-old, same-old of my life. That leads me to right where I am! I am trying to make real changes, and change is hard and that's just all there is to it. I am trying to get healthier and get ready to move so that I am ready to step into the new life before me.
Oh, and the news of our move was released yesterday. And it was front page news today.
Cheers!
Lisa
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