This month has totally flown by! All my good ideas for the year went out the window when I got sick January 5th. My plans have taken a detour but they're still in place to follow. I re-evaluated things and discovered I've gained and lost the same 8 pounds since September 2012. Spinning my wheels here. Fitness minutes: I'm shocked I actually got in 1000 this month considering I have two weeks that were complete wash-outs due to being sick. The thing that really hurt was my streak on exercise. It stopped at 75 straight weeks, and now I'm starting all over again. I was really upset over that one but I just wasn't able to do much of anything much less exercise. My eating has been all over the charts but I have faithfully entered my food in everyday no matter how good or bad it was. It's been bad and that's the reason I haven't lost the weight. Oh well!
I know what I need to do. I have been adding some new things in the mix, like salmon. I had a bad experience with it in the '80s and refused to try it again. Well, this month my son decided he wanted to be healthier (yay!) and bought some frozen salmon. So we've had it twice since I've felt better. The first time was iffy because I wasn't feeling the best but yesterday we had it again and I loved it. So salmon is now on the shopping list permanently thanks to my son.
We were drinking organic milk, however, that'll be a treat because we have to drive 35 miles (one way) to buy it. I think it stays fresher than the regular milk. It also tastes a lot better than the milk we were buying. I had to get milk the other day and got a different brand to see if it tasted any different. So the jury's still out on that. It's like the kefir and the Naked Juice or Bolthouse Juices - they are a special trip too but I try to keep them in the house.
Yesterday was the first good walk my dog and I have taken since the first week of the month. I must say though that we are having to be extra careful when we're walking now. My neighbor recommended that I get some pepper spray and carry with me. You see we're seeing an abundance of wild animals lately. In the past few months I have personally seen a black panther, cougar, bobcat and many coyotes as well as nearly getting run over by a deer last month. I had never told anyone about the panther/cougar sightings because I didn't think anyone would believe me. There have been people saying they've seen them now too, so I don't feel so bad. Two of my neighbors have seen the black panther too. That's why my neighbor wants me to get the pepper spray because she's concerned about my dog being their target. As a result of all these sightings by myself and my neighbors I have changed up my walking times and areas some. My routes are the hardest thing to change because there's so many open fields around me. Plus I live about 1 mile from the start of the "bottoms". There also have been sightings in the past of wolves too - never seen one around here but my late uncle did. On my walks I discovered a couple streets over two different people have chickens so that could be the part of reason for all the wild animals coming up. With all the drought this past year and lousy corn and soybean crops as a result there's not much food to forage for alot of the animals so they're coming up here in town (I live on the edge of town, even though it's 1/4 mile from city hall) to see what they can find. I would love to get pictures of some of the animals but safety is my main concern for myself and my dog. Here I was worried about the wild animals on my hikes in the mountains and the Smokies especially the bears! Now I have to worry about them here (not the bears I hope).
So now that January is rapidly coming to an end I'm trying to get myself back on track and healthy again (bronchitis is a royal pain in my chest since I have asthma). I've danced around the house to my CDs today. My right heel is hurting really bad so I have to limit my activity somewhat.
Let's do this! We can succeed! We can do this! I've come to far to give up! Never say never! Be consistent. Change is good. Make small changes and they'll stick. Love what you do! If you don't love it you won't do it - at least I won't. Move. Walk. Dance. Jog. Run. Hula-hoop. Just get up and do it! You'll feel better. As my doctor tells me walking is the best thing you can do. I feel so much better when I get out with my dog and walk. I guess that's why I love to hike now - I'm outside and it's fun!
Until next time, I send you love, hugs and much encouragement!
Ramona