Tag / Lifestyle Change

Beach Walkers
by Janet

Dieter’s Journal #2

Dear Diary,

I was going to write about my New Lifestyle, New Me project, but I think the Quarantine is taking the lead. I was convinced that it wasn’t affecting me, but now I’m starting to think I’ve been in denial. I took my walk just before the sun went down, because I wanted to spring clean first (still working on that). My energy level was so LOW that my walk became a stroll, and it didn’t lift my spirits whatsoever. I don’t venture too far off and it’s like the same old same old at every corner. Been there, done that.

It feels like I have depression or something (and I’m guessing that because I’ve never really been depressed). Absolutely NOTHING excited me today. Maybe I’m in need of some dopamine. Or oxytocin. Maybe they went on strike when I started badmouthing rewards.

I Googled “things to do during the quarantine” to see if there was anything that I hadn’t thought of already. One suggestion was to “text all of your exes in case you want to get something off your chest.” Ha! Thanks but no thanks. Although… ?

I think the problem is that everything is melding together. I hardly know what day it is anymore, and everything I want to start gets brushed aside because… well… it’s just not a good time to start anything right now. Mornings feel like night, and nights feel like day. There’s no structure. Not that I enjoy structure—I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl—but it would be nice to have some kind of routine.

Maybe that’s what I’ll work on; I’ll create a routine! (felt a rush of dopamine right there).

Anyway, I’m thankful that I got out there even though I wasn’t in the mood. Let’s hope for a better tomorrow. Thanks for listening.

Walk Stats: 1.45 Miles / 33 Minutes / 3,514 Steps

The image isn’t from today, I’m still trying to figure out how to walk with it. I took this photo on one of my beach trips (which I could really use right about now!). I love the fact that the two women are really into their conversation. It made me think that maybe I’d like a walking partner. It would be so cool to have someone to talk to on my walks. Note to Self: Look into that when the restrictions are over.

by Janet

Quarantine Walks

Journaling through Quarantine

An idea on which direction to go with The Quarantine Project finally came to me. It didn’t happen while walking yesterday—as I had hoped—but the light bulb turned on this morning as I sat down to write this. 

I didn’t take my camera walking with me because I was worried that it would slow me down. After several days of rain, I was eager to get out there and POWER walk. The camera is fairly heavy, and I would have had to wear it around my neck. Note to Self: find a backpack to wear on my walks; to carry water, phone, glasses, identification, and camera.

What’s ironic is that while the rain kept me indoors, I was able to read all of the posts by JLynn on WhileWalkingToday; another blogger who is literally walking her way into shape. All I could think about while reading her posts (besides being amazed by her perseverance and her humorous approach to it all) was how much I missed being out there… walking.

Anyway, since I didn’t have my camera—of course—I noticed EVERYTHING. My first thought whenever something caught my eye was always… “Man, I sure wish I had my camera!” My disappointment subsided when I thought about the fact that sometimes photos don’t express what you REALLY see. Many times in fact. So I thought I might write about what I saw instead.

Gratitude kept coming to mind. I was so grateful to be outside! Being “without” really changes us. When I broke both of my ankles some years back, all I could think about was how heavenly it would feel to walk again. Yesterday was like that. I kept looking up at the big blue sky, wanting to lift my hands and shout Hallelujah! 

I walked through an alley that I never even knew existed. And I’ve been in this community for… well… decades. We have equestrian neighborhoods here, and the alley runs behind the houses in one of those areas. I guess you could say I had an up-close and personal view of the back; horse stalls and all. And manure. Honestly… I was never so happy to smell horse poop. 

Upon entering the major thoroughfare, I was greeted by several walkers, runners, and cyclists… almost all of them wearing masks of some sort. 

One man who jogged by me looked something like this…

painted spring

PHOTO NOT BY ME

I wasn’t wearing a mask so I felt a little awkward. I didn’t really plan to see humans (how odd is that?!) so it didn’t seem necessary. Much of it is still so surreal to me. It seemed like I had exited stage left and had erroneously landed smack dab in the middle of a Mad Max production. But, in spite of it all, everyone I encountered was full of energy and life, and they all seemed as grateful as I was… to be outside.

All in all, it was a beautiful day. I walked 2.77 miles (or 6,768 steps) in an hour. And I haven’t been wearing my step counter either. What I’m realizing is that with counting steps, reading up on food facts, and hopping on and off the scale… all of this can easily turn counter-productive. As they say—don’t think about what you are trying to quit! The key here is the same key that helped me stop drinking and smoking. Turn it over to God and think about something else; NEW things.

So, it seems as though everything is falling into place. I’m going to think less about food and fitness, and focus more on The Quarantine Project; a collection of stories and images from “walks around the neighborhood” during the social distancing restriction. When you think about it—some day—any experiences that we document right now will literally be a part of history. What an awesome opportunity!

That’s about all for now. If you’ve made it this far down… thank you so much for reading (hanging in there).

And thank you Rebekah and JLynn—for all of the inspiration.

by Janet

Thoughts, Thoughts . . .

And more thoughts!

This morning I woke up tired of thinking. That doesn’t happen very often. In the short time I’ve been awake, I felt droopy, slightly discouraged, and have been questioning some of my own ideas. And then I stumbled on this image and thought that maybe I just need to change the way I’m thinking.

I need to think about things differently.

First of all, besides my WordPress class (which ends Saturday), I’m taking a philosophy class; Intro to Comparative Religion. All I can say is: “That class is exhausting!”

Anyway, the good news here is that last week I was able to hit my mark of 5,500 steps per day. It was actually a breeze once the rain stopped. If the weather stays nice I’ll be able to hit that many steps in just one afternoon walk, so I’m ready to increase my goal.

The challenge here is that the more steps I take, the more I allow myself to cheat on the food end. Like… it’s alright to eat that brownie, you just took 2000 steps! It reminded me of all of my ploys to drink in moderation, like… only wine, or only after 5 p.m., and so on.

I also uninstalled the app that was reminding me to walk around, and to drink water. It was constantly beeping and driving me nuts. Between water sips and restroom trips, there was hardly time for anything else! It got to the point where I’d simply hit snooze, and what’s the point of that?

What I’m realizing is that monitoring a “lifestyle change” is risky. If these changes are meant for the long haul, why do I keep checking in on them… and what do I keep looking for? Instant gratification… that’s what I’m secretly seeking. Every time I get on that scale I hope to see some kind of magic happen. That kind of thinking has to stop. Rome was not built in a day!

So… being the first day of the new month and all, I’ve decided that my goal for April is to Stay off the Scale. I’m kicking up my “steps goal” to 6,500 per day, for the entire month, and I’m putting it on cruise control. No more thinking about it (or checking in on it) until the month comes to a close. I’m going to put more focus on my daily gratitude list instead.

Overall, my diet has improved and I actually lost 5 pounds in the month of March. I’m certainly grateful for that!

That’s about all for now. Thanks for hanging in there with me… and have a beautiful day!

Mediocrity is easy, the good things take time, the great need commitment. —Bob Seger