balance

What I mean is that I needed to get back to a more balanced place in my life. With all the work and working out, food prep, all of that stuff that I have been focusing on, I have neglected some things around the apartment! So, no excuse about not working out, this is my "down day" for working out. Like I have discussed before, I need some order when I walk into my apartment. So, I didn't sit around and watch tv, I didn't say, "ugg, I don't want to work out", I said, "wow, maybe I need more sleep or maybe this chaos is why I am losing things and feeling a little overwhelmed". I decided that I would have dinner, then I cleaned my entire apartment. I am also watching some pets, so I have to make sure that I go over there a couple of times a day for the next week or 2. If my space is cluttered, dirty, chaotic, then it is hard for me to continue to meet my commtiments and to move forward and not feel overwhelmed. I feel that all of us need this to an extent, but "order" is different for everyone. However, when I talk with people, they tell me, "I just have so much stuff! I don't know where to start." Now that I think about it, that is like what lots of people, myself included, say/have said about trying to lose a lot of weight. Do you know what I mean? Like it is so much weight, they don't know where to start, it just seems like an unsurmountable task. Does that make any sense? Well, one thing to say, it just takes making a decision every day to move closer to your goal.

A couple of updates; I think that I have mentioned that I am growing my hair out so that I can donate it. Well, I have had just one trim since December, and my hair was looking a bit unhealthy. So, I bit the bullet and paid for a good haircut. Here is the tip that I learned from my hairdresser. When you swim, make sure that you rinse your hair right after, and then use a clarifying shampoo to make sure all the chlorine gets out and your hair feels healthy. I knew I had to get the chlorine out, but didn't really think about a new shampoo..it slipped my mind.
Next, an update on my knee. I went to the chiropractor today. He said NOT to run on anything except the treadmill because it is better on my joints. I used to have a baker's syst in the center of my knee joint, and he said that might have come back, but seemed like my tendon was a bit strained. He gave me a couple of new stretches, including some leg extensions. The one in the gym is often too heavy for my knee joint-it clicks. So, it sounds like if I use my ankle weights and just sit on a chair and do the leg extensions, that will help my quad muscles.

Okay, stats for the day. 7 hours of sleep last night, calories consumed-1773, calories burned-3069 for a total deficit of 1296. Not a stellar day for calorie burn, but I still burned a calories, and I have a fairly open weekend to really work out a ton! Oh, I did do my 125 crunches so that I don't have 250 to do tomorrow :)

So, food for thought I guess is: If you are feeling overwhelmed in one or more areas of your life, think of how you can do just ONE thing today. Some people say that if they only do one thing a day, they will never finish. Though I understand that way of thinking, you might be surprised that once you go through that top rack in the closet, it feels so freeing that you just keep going until the 2nd rack is done. Also, if that doesn't happen and you only do one thing each day on that, that is one more thing than you did the day before on the project, right? good luck! I look forward to hearing all about it and cheering you on!!

Thanks for all of the support.

Learning and growing into a healthier me!
~Cindy Lou