Back to Work

How funny – I stepped on the scale this morning after avoiding it altogether yesterday. And yes, exactly 25 pounds over my healthy goal weight. It’s amazing though how this fact does not throw me for an emotional loop and that's good since it doesn’t help the matter anyway.

Changing to healthier behaviors is something I have control over and I continue to develop them for myself. Last night I got my gym bag ready and put it by the front door. While getting my husband’s food ready for the rest of the week this morning (he works out of town), I also put my lunch together: frozen homemade soup, an apple, banana and a grapefruit. It’s ready to go, but next week I will do this on Sunday evening and get back 30 minutes of my morning.

I drank my protein drink while reading my early morning motivation (oops, I forgot the monounsaturated flaxseed oil in my shake so I will need to take it when I go downstairs). This morning the article I read was about starting each day with a 3 step plan for a healthy day. Here it is in a nutshell: 1.) Sleep in a cool room (60 – 70 degrees); get out of bed without hitting the snooze button; use a suitable strategy for raising your mood, i.e. bright colors in your bedroom, flowers by the bed, post it note of something you are looking forward to. It seems that our hormones drop during sleep and these strategies may help to raise your mood before the hormones naturally start to rise. 2.) Exercise (add one and a half minute intervals of high intensity every 3 minutes or so to increase your fitness level) and stretch after your exercise session. 3.) Boost fat burn by eating breakfast (remember to add monounsaturated fats to each meal as well to increase weight loss and decrease belly fat). All good ideas I must say.

My morning schedule is always a bit hectic when I get my hubby off to work so I have less time for myself before I go to work. So, Just for Today, I will decrease my morning Zazen practice (Zen meditation); enjoy a shorter piano practice; and decrease my morning exercise session. I will however breathe between each activity and say a few words of gratitude. I will maintain this practice all day as I go back to work at the Fisher House and organize my office for a brand new year of service to our veterans and their families. Have a good one!