I'm just your average, everyday, divorced 38 year old girl -- overweight, tragically unhip,
and trying to make a life for myself. I live with two furry beasts, Dave and Abby, whose
feline mission in life is to choke me with their fur. Nothing special.
Thursday morning. Hmmm, not been very good with the site updates lately, have I? This time of year at work is brutal and, with a combined vacation/business trip coming up next week, my calendar is booked solid until May 20. How sad is that?
Moving on to important matters, though, I've been very remiss in keeping up with the Do It For (My) Daddy Challenge (DIFD) updates, and that will never do. In point of fact, Daddy is doing quite well, although the nurse for his surgeon apparently has picked up her bedside manner from her boss (very business-like, not much human kindness) and is quickly gaining the dislike of both my parents. Still and all, he's losing lots of weight, which is a good thing for him and for his heart health, and he's definitely increasing his activity a little bit each day.
Which, of course, brings us to the check-in on DIFD challenge. Last week, you'll remember, your challenge was to do 30 minutes of activity each day. This week, if you've already got a BMI (body mass index) rating in the "normal" zone (go here to check), you will continue with the 30 minutes. If, however, you are like Daddy and me and need to lose some weight, you'll be increasing your daily activity time by 10% to 33 minutes. That can be three 11 minute walks, one 33 minute session with DDR, two 1-mile Walk Away the Pounds sessions plus two flights of stairs - the possibilities are endless.
For this week's challenge, we're going to focus on another of the preventable risk factors for heart disease (obesity, sedentary lifestyle, stress, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking), as we work to manage the stress in our lives. Your challenge for this week, should you choose to accept it, is to take time away from your job each day to do something relaxing. This could mean sitting outside for a few moments (not in the smoking section, thank you very much), reading a (non-work related) book, driving or walking to a nearby park to swing on a swing - whatever relaxes you and takes your mind off of everything work-related. We'll start out with a goal of 10 minutes each day and work our way up to a full 30 minutes by the end of the challenge. Did you know that non-exempt/hourly employees are entitled to two short breaks on the clock each day? How many of you actually take those breaks? For my fellow exempt/salaried employees, well, we work as many hours as it takes anyway, so what's another 10, 20, or 30 minutes a day, right?
I know, some of you are thinking that I'm asking too much of you at this point, and I can appreciate that. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by everything that it takes to have a healthy (and heart healthy) lifestyle, too, but then I remember: My 61 year old father is facing all of this plus recovery from heart surgery. So, after I say a mental "I'm sorry" to God for being ungrateful, I just do it. For all of you wonderful people, just remember that all of the things I'm adding to the DIFD challenge will help you and your loved ones have a longer, healthier life together.
And, if that doesn't do it for you, just Do It For (My) Daddy!
Sunday night. I am really uncomfortable telling you this, but I am a rotten friend. My friend, Tracy, has been here since Friday morning and it's been great seeing her. She's been doing a medically-supervised, low calorie food plan (shakes and meals) for a few months now and she's lost more in those few months than I have in 11 months. (Well, technically, only six months, since I haven't lost any weight since early December.) She looks fabulous, she's strong, she is planning to start running soon, and she's on track to be done with this thing by mid August. Mid August! If I were to totally get myself back on track immediately, I'll still have over 40 pounds to lose by them - GRRRRR. And running? Running is my thing. (Not that I can do it right now or any time in the last eight years, but...) Don't get me wrong, I'm totally thrilled for her and proud of her, but I'm also jealous as all get out. I'm hoping this will help motivate me (as if I needed more motivation) to get my routine back into gear.
Anyone remember back when it was all just effortlessly cruising along for me? Yeah, me, too, but it's becoming a more distant memory with each and every day.
