i mentioned earlier this month that i wanted to overhaul my exercise and eating habits for the new year. i've made a few beneficial changes, and i have a lot of work to do. i'm working on it slowly, and making a bit of progress.
to wit:
i found an article about losing weight by drinking juices or smoothies. i found another article with smoothie recipes in it, so this week i bought the ingredients to make a smoothie a day. this morning's concoction is kale, celery, banana, and apple. or as the boy called it, "vomit in a glass".
it didn't taste too bad. it tasted very green. i'm not a kale person, but i tried it, and i'll try it again. there are many other recipes, included a carrot smoothie and many fruit ones. it's a good way to get more fruit and veggies in me, as i'm not the greatest at getting my daily f&v's.
i think if i'm going to make more smoothies, i should get a new blender. our blender is (going to be) 12 years old, we got it for a wedding present, and as i blended my smoothie, i could smell heat. that's not good, right? maybe i'll spend my target gift card on a good blender.
last week i got my swim pass and i swam laps. i did pretty well - i actually lost count of my laps, but i swam for a good half hour. that may not sound like much, but considering i hadn't gone swimming since after thanksgiving (nearly two months) that's not too shabby. i hurt like hell the day afterward, but if i can get on track swimming once (my dream is twice) a week, i should pare down in no time flat. i didn't get to swim this week, becos mom was sick and couldn't watch the kids.
i didn't get a chance to look into the zumba classes near my house, but i did look up exercise programs in the onDemand feature on our DVR. we pay for all these extra channels on tv, there's gotta be something fun to do, right? i found several yoga and pilate programs and for the first time in years (i'm ashamed to admit that) i dug out my old yoga mat and did some stretching exercises. the program i chose was a bit difficult (the lady did a lot of sun salutations and floor routines that i knew) but my joints and muscles protested very loudly that i needed a few weeks of warm ups before i could attempt this routine. i got a sick headache afterwards, which normally would have annoyed me but in this case i was pleased becos it meant that i worked some "impurities" out of my system. i have a long ways to go, and it's hard to find time to do yoga now since the kiddos' nap routine changed, but it felt good doing the stretches, and i'm sure the more i stretch, the better my joints will feel.
this is a big change for me - i started going to bed early. after new years, i started going to bed before 11pm. this may not seem like a big deal, but there were nights when i would go to bed after 11:30 or midnight and later, then get up at 6:30. i only got about 6 hours of sleep a night, if that, not counting if the kiddos got me up or i woke up earlier than planned. i get about one to two extra hours a sleep a night, and i feel way more energized. i napped less, had more energy to do chores and even care for the kids.
i also quit sleeping downstairs and made myself go to bed. for the past two (almost three) years, i slept down on the sofa. i slept there while dealing with my miscarriage, then becos i slept sitting up while pregnant with the kiddos, after my c/s and various colds and such, it was time to return to my bed when the boy started to refer to it as "daddy's bed" and ask me, night after night, "are you sleeping with daddy tonight?"
it took a while to get accustomed to sleeping on a mattress again (it's an old one too, i got it when hubby and i dated). i got a new alarm clock (this one, in blue) becos our old clock interfered with my sleep (it was a clock with an iPod dock, but the readout was this obnoxious glowing blue that kept me up if i didn't turn it against the wall and cover it with a scarf or sock). i woke up stiff and sore, often with a headache from my allergies. i started taking 2 pink benedryls (for the allergies) and one of my "souped up advils" left over from my c/s (for the muscle pain). i slept like a baby for weeks and felt better as a result of it.
i'm happy to report that last week i quit taking my "sleep concoction". the early part of this week i took tylenol PM before bed (to help with the pain) but for the past 3 nights haven't taken anything at all. yay! i hurt still in the morning, and i wake up stuffy, but it's getting better.
i have a long ways to go, with my health changes. i need to kick up my exercise routine and do it more consistently. i eat well and have increased my healthy food intake, but i can do better. i'm getting there!
to wit:
i found an article about losing weight by drinking juices or smoothies. i found another article with smoothie recipes in it, so this week i bought the ingredients to make a smoothie a day. this morning's concoction is kale, celery, banana, and apple. or as the boy called it, "vomit in a glass".
it didn't taste too bad. it tasted very green. i'm not a kale person, but i tried it, and i'll try it again. there are many other recipes, included a carrot smoothie and many fruit ones. it's a good way to get more fruit and veggies in me, as i'm not the greatest at getting my daily f&v's.
i think if i'm going to make more smoothies, i should get a new blender. our blender is (going to be) 12 years old, we got it for a wedding present, and as i blended my smoothie, i could smell heat. that's not good, right? maybe i'll spend my target gift card on a good blender.
last week i got my swim pass and i swam laps. i did pretty well - i actually lost count of my laps, but i swam for a good half hour. that may not sound like much, but considering i hadn't gone swimming since after thanksgiving (nearly two months) that's not too shabby. i hurt like hell the day afterward, but if i can get on track swimming once (my dream is twice) a week, i should pare down in no time flat. i didn't get to swim this week, becos mom was sick and couldn't watch the kids.
i didn't get a chance to look into the zumba classes near my house, but i did look up exercise programs in the onDemand feature on our DVR. we pay for all these extra channels on tv, there's gotta be something fun to do, right? i found several yoga and pilate programs and for the first time in years (i'm ashamed to admit that) i dug out my old yoga mat and did some stretching exercises. the program i chose was a bit difficult (the lady did a lot of sun salutations and floor routines that i knew) but my joints and muscles protested very loudly that i needed a few weeks of warm ups before i could attempt this routine. i got a sick headache afterwards, which normally would have annoyed me but in this case i was pleased becos it meant that i worked some "impurities" out of my system. i have a long ways to go, and it's hard to find time to do yoga now since the kiddos' nap routine changed, but it felt good doing the stretches, and i'm sure the more i stretch, the better my joints will feel.
this is a big change for me - i started going to bed early. after new years, i started going to bed before 11pm. this may not seem like a big deal, but there were nights when i would go to bed after 11:30 or midnight and later, then get up at 6:30. i only got about 6 hours of sleep a night, if that, not counting if the kiddos got me up or i woke up earlier than planned. i get about one to two extra hours a sleep a night, and i feel way more energized. i napped less, had more energy to do chores and even care for the kids.
i also quit sleeping downstairs and made myself go to bed. for the past two (almost three) years, i slept down on the sofa. i slept there while dealing with my miscarriage, then becos i slept sitting up while pregnant with the kiddos, after my c/s and various colds and such, it was time to return to my bed when the boy started to refer to it as "daddy's bed" and ask me, night after night, "are you sleeping with daddy tonight?"
it took a while to get accustomed to sleeping on a mattress again (it's an old one too, i got it when hubby and i dated). i got a new alarm clock (this one, in blue) becos our old clock interfered with my sleep (it was a clock with an iPod dock, but the readout was this obnoxious glowing blue that kept me up if i didn't turn it against the wall and cover it with a scarf or sock). i woke up stiff and sore, often with a headache from my allergies. i started taking 2 pink benedryls (for the allergies) and one of my "souped up advils" left over from my c/s (for the muscle pain). i slept like a baby for weeks and felt better as a result of it.
i'm happy to report that last week i quit taking my "sleep concoction". the early part of this week i took tylenol PM before bed (to help with the pain) but for the past 3 nights haven't taken anything at all. yay! i hurt still in the morning, and i wake up stuffy, but it's getting better.
i have a long ways to go, with my health changes. i need to kick up my exercise routine and do it more consistently. i eat well and have increased my healthy food intake, but i can do better. i'm getting there!
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