I began this wellness journey close to two years ago. At my age, I decided it was better late than never. Two and a half months ago, we returned from our wintering in Florida. Four days later, our governor proclaimed a stay put order. Two weeks ago, I weighed myself for the first time in quite awhile. What I discovered did not make me happy. In less than three month’s time, I had regained 6 of the 38 pounds I had worked so hard to lose. I was not happy about this. It wasn’t the fact that I had gained weight, after all, what did I expect with the eating of junk food and late night snacking, What bothered me was, I had fallen back into my old unhealthy habits. I had casually abandoned all the things I had learned that had helped me lose weight.
However, I did not panic. I took stock at what I was doing differently in my daily routines. The first thing I noticed was that I hadn’t been eating oatmeal for breakfast. When I don’t eat oatmeal, I get hungry long before lunch time. The second thing I had stopped doing was my morning workout of Yoga and aerobics. When I do them, they seem to kickstart my metabolism. Finally, I had abandoned my bullet journal where I logged my progress for all my goals
It was definitely time to revisit “my toolbox for healthy living”. I wrote about this in a post last November. It reminds me of what I have to do to stay on track. Since I don’t want to regress, I have recommitted myself to living a healthy lifestyle via my tools. My original toolbox contained five items. This one contains 6.
Tool #1 is my monthly VISION BOARD. Boy, has it changed from my previous boards. For June, I have prioritized what is really important at this time. I have gone from 12 to 7 categories. A) Daily Prayer is my number one vision. With all the terrible things that have been happening in our nation recently, I find this to be what gets me through each day. B) Family is my number two vision. Our stay put order was just lifted. We have not seen our children or grandchildren since before we left for Florida in January. When we came home early, it was to go directly to our house and not stop to see anyone. That was our order from our children. Now, I can’t wait to go see all of them. C) Positivity is another of my visions. It would be easy to start feeling sorry that we had to stay put for so long. Instead, I have made the decision to face each day as it comes with a positive attitude. I try to convey this on my Facebook page with either positive quotes or virtual “field trips” I have made using my GOOGLE photos app. They are fun to make and friends and family thank me for them. D,E,F,G) categories are part of my tool box: Activity, Health, Selfcare and Safety.
Tool #2 is my WORKOUT calendar. It would be so easy to just give in and sit around watching television and do nothing. However, that is not a healthy behavior I want to practice, especially for someone my age. Instead, I keep moving. We live in the middle of the woods with no permanent neighbors nearby. My daily workouts now consist of working in the yard, walking in the woods and my stationary bike. By doing all these things, I am keeping my joints loose and flexible. I had also gotten away from my daily Yoga workout so have started that again.
Tool #3 is making sure I follow my HEALTHY RECIPES. I made sure that when we stocked up on groceries, before our stay put order, that I bought plenty of healthy ingredients. I go to our local grocery store once a week now. I get there early in the morning, right after they have opened. I have a comprehensive list that is set up in the order of the store aisles. However, planning ahead is now more important than ever. I plan my meals on Sunday so I know exactly what I need to get on Monday. I make sure I still buy as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I can.
Tool #4 is SELF-CARE. During this stressful time of Covid-19, I have found my self-care checklist to be most helpful. Each day I take time to reflect and pray. I listen to calming music and work on my hobbies. I get fresh air and spend time reading comforting books and scripture.
Tool #5 is my STRETEGIES. They got me to where I was and they will help me reconnect to my wellness routine. They are a reminder of what I need to do each day to stay on track: 1) No food is off limits. I just need to watch the number of calories I eat each day. I wasn’t being careful about that. I need to log everything I eat and not cheat. 2) Eat my meals within an 8-9 hour span. I had forgotten this. Now, I make sure I do not eat anything after 8:00 pm. 3) If I have a craving, I practice keeping myself busy, drink a glass of water, wait 20 minutes to see if I still have the craving or take a walk. 4) I keep hydrated. I make sure I drink between 65-80 ounces of plain water every day. Now that it is warmer, I am aiming for 75-80 ounces.
Tool #6 is my new tool of SAFETY FIRST. We may not like it or even agree with the length, but we are taking the stay put order very seriously in our house. We only go out once a week for the essentials. I am the only one that goes into the store. I have a precise list and stick to it. I do not take my purse or cell phone. I put the money in a plastic zip lock bag in my pocket. I wear gloves and a protective cloth face mask so as not to risk exposure to others. We put all the grocery bags in a tub in the back of our truck and when I take the gloves off, I turn them inside out like I would for blood born pathogens. They are left in the back of the truck to be disposed of when we get home. The plastic tub is set in our breezeway. I sanitize my hands and then my husband hands me items one at a time and I sanitize each one carefully and then set it on a sanitized table. Once everything has been sanitized, then it enters the house. The face mask is sprayed with disinfectant and then hung on the clothesline to dry. We each have several and I wash them with the weekly laundry. You may not think all of this is necessary, but all of this extra work is worth it if it keeps my hubby and me healthy and virus free.
Once again, my tool box has come through for me in this time of uncertainty. Just because we were confined to our home doesn’t mean I should let my healthy lifestyle go by the wayside. I know all of our adult children and grandchildren were very concerned when we were in Florida and were so very happy when we chose to come home two weeks early. However, they did not rest easy until we were safely in our own home and staying put. As our oldest granddaughter, who is a CNA, said when I texted her that we were almost home, “Good. Stay inside.” I know this positive mindset I have and my tool box will get me through these tough times.
Until next time, “Stay healthy and don’t stop believing.”
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