Day 51: Happy Monday !

Monday October 7, 2024

Here is the link to my original Day 51. It was  Saturday February 23, 2019. My headline that day was "Sleepy Saturday". My cold had gotten worse but I was feeling a little better. Even so, I spent the day on the couch watching tv. As is typical, later in the day I wasn't feeling quite so good ! Today being a Monday I would usually lament the end of the weekend and the start of the work week. It's been over 4 months since I was laid off and I won't lie .. it's kind of nice just doing whatever I want every day. Wednesday will be rock & roll bingo and Thursday I'm taking Kim & Joe to Costco. We're going to have breakfast first, so that will be nice !

The alarm went off at 7 today but I did not get up. It was just after 8:30 when I finally got up. I'm keeping the alarm on, in hopes that I will get my sleep cycle turned around and be able to start getting up earlier.

Breakfast was 160 calorie waffles with sugar free syrup. It was close to 11 by the time I had my 80 calorie yogurt. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 240 calorie chicken bacon ranch quesadilla that I dressed with salsa and low fat sour cream. I also had a chef salad. This is actually a dinner entree but I get 12 of them in each shipment, so I have a ton of them. Afternoon snack was an 80 calorie cheese stick and more pretzels than I should have eaten. We'll go with 240 calories. Dinner was 220 calorie creamy chicken alfredo over riced cauliflower. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake with whipped cream and a glass of skim milk.

I fed the cats when I got up and then enjoyed my waffles and first cup of coffee. After a little Cookie Jam and Minnie snuggles I decided it was time to make the bed and take a shower. I really think the morning shower is going to be the key to getting my days back on track ! After my shower I got dressed and put the mums back outside. I had brought them in last night due to the storms moving in, which didn't amount to anything while I was awake. Then I sat down to enjoy my 2nd cup of coffee and yogurt. I also completed my skincare. All this before 11 am !

I've talked about the time I spent chasing a challenge on Cookie Jam last week, and today the new weekly challenge popped up. They alternate between completing the most levels and completing the most levels on the first try. This week is all about completing the most levels, which is easier and I typically win without even trying. I just play the game so much. "Barbara" is not part of my challenge group and I'm sure she is happy about that .. lol ! Anyhow, I am going to just play my game this week and try not to feel like I have to win at all costs.

Yesterday was a great day because I completed everything but vitamins on my checklist. The goal for today is to check all the boxes ! I took my multivitamin, vitamin D, vitamin E and iron before I had my yogurt and that was a big mistake. It made me a little nauseous. Once I ate my yogurt I started to feel a little better and planned to get on the treadmill by 1 pm.

It's a gray chilly day but I had the back door open for a little bit to let some fresh air in. I had to close it as I could feel the chill in the house. It was 66 in the house when I got up and I really didn't feel cold. I had the front door open so Minnie could go out on the porch if she wanted. Those days will be coming to an end soon ! I'm planning to start putting up my Christmas decorations right after Halloween, though I won't light anything until the day I have the family for pasta. I don't want to be out there doing it when it's freezing cold, so the sooner the better.

I got on the treadmill just after 1 pm and by 1:33 the first 20m1s workout was complete. I still find this workout to be a challenge, so I hope I'm ready to step up when 10-21 rolls around. That is 2 weeks away and if I do this workout every day I should be ready. I do feel like I settle in to the workout a little quicker and by the time the cool down is complete I am fully recovered. I don't seem to get as out of breath either, so that is good news ! We'll see what happens on the 21st ! My heart rate peaked at 184 today, which is pretty high. I checked online and brief spikes don't seem to be anything to worry about.

After the workout I sat on the couch to finish my shake, watch some YouTube and add to this blog. I also enjoyed a few minutes of the fan before it got too chilly ! It's only 59 today and there is no sun, so I closed the front door to keep the house as warm as possible. Minnie is upstairs snoozing on my bed since there is no sun to bask in. The next 2 days appears to be nothing but rain and clouds and the rest of the week appears to be a mix of clouds and sun. Typical fall weather has arrived !

I feel like I've got my diet back under control and I'm starting to make progress with exercise, so I'm hopeful I can get this weight off soon ! I do feel a bit lighter, but I'm still staring at a fat gut when I sit down. 

In odd news, I paid my taxes last Tuesday and the check has not posted to my account. There was plenty of money in my account, so there would be no reason for it to be returned. I would hope it would post by tomorrow. In other odd news, Verizon users are reporting service issues today. Seems like all the major carriers are having service issues these days. I have to wonder if hackers are to blame. Considering both companies have outsourced tons of jobs to foreign countries and given access to their systems, they've left themselves open to unauthorized access. People in foreign countries could care less about the company and would sell their mother to make a buck. In scary news, I just read that Hurricane Milton has strengthened to a Category 4/5 and could be the worst storm to hit Florida in 100 years ! It's expected to hit Wednesday evening. One article I read says it's a 5 and another says it is 7 mph away from being a 5 .. so who knows what it will be once it reaches Florida. I guess the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are what allows it to strengthen and grow. I really, really hope it somehow veers away or loses strength as it gets closer. Helene was a 4 and look what that did ! The only good news is it's slightly south of where Helene hit, so maybe those folks won't get flooded again. I can't imagine being in the path of that monster ! Hopefully after what just happened, people will heed the warnings and evacuate. With global warming and rising seas, it's possible these types of devastating storms could get worse and worse as the years pass. What do you do if you live on the coast ? Insurers are not going to pay to rebuild your house every year. I have never had a desire to move to Florida, though I wouldn't mind moving to Virginia or North Carolina. Between the massive increases in condo fees and the hurricanes, it's no wonder fewer people are choosing to retire to Florida. It's a nice place to visit when it's not hurricane season, but I would never live there.

I managed to finish my vitamins today ! This is the first time in a long time that I got them all in. I took the last of them after lunch, so I didn't have any trouble with nausea.

I made it back onto to the treadmill around 6:15 and completed 15m39s in the Road to Recovery part 2 series. My total time for today is 35m40s plus 14m warm up/cool down for a grand total of 49m40s. This is amazing progress ! My max heart rate during the 2nd workout was 137 and that is well within my range. I'm not sure how accurate Fitbit is when it comes to measuring your heart rate, so I'm not going to worry if I have an occasional spike.

Shortly after my workout I decided to cook my dinner, even though I wasn't hungry. The idea was cook it then and just reheat it when I get hungry. After that I decided to gather the trash and get that put out, since I missed it last week. Since I put the trash out tonight they probably won't come until 4 pm tomorrow .. lol ! I'll put the recyclables out in the morning as long as it's not raining hard or windy.

Today was been a really amazing day. As of 7:24 I've done everything on the checklist except eat my dinner & evening snack, clean litter boxes and brush my teeth. All will be done before I call it a day and I think this is the first time I've been able to do this ! If I can continue this trajectory, I should be able to get this weight off and continue taking better care of myself. Wednesday's will be a bit of an exception because I go out, but there is no reason I can't complete all of the non-eating parts of the checklist - including exercise ! Thursday will be uncertain since I'll be leaving early and I'm not sure what time I'll be back home.

As of 10:30 I've done everything except brush my teeth, but I'll be heading upstairs to do that shortly ! 

Below is what I achieved today. I am focusing on what I do each day, and not looking back to what I did or didn't do any other day.

Make the bed - x

feed cats - x

have breakfast - x

get dressed - x

exercise - x x

clean litter boxes - x

take vitamins - x

have morning snack - x

have lunch - x

have afternoon snack - x 

have dinner - x

have evening snack - x

shower - x

skincare - x

brush teeth -