Where's the Owner's Manual for My Body?

It really should be a thing...

I intended this newsletter to be full of helpful advice and reviews of things I’ve tried. I wanted to share successes and be an inspiration. Today, as I started writing about joint pain, lack of weight loss, and what I am doing wrong, I realized it’s been three months of “poor me” posts.

I apologize for that. It’s probably not what you signed up for. And today is not going to be much different.

I’ve been on this health journey for about 3 years. I’ve been investigating, educating myself, and slowly making changes. But, damn, it would be nice if our bodies just came with an owner’s manual.

As we age, there are lots of random aches and pains that might be nothing, or might be life-threatening. Is it a sciatica or am I having a stroke? Panic attack or heart attack?

And how about feeding ourselves? I barely feel like eating and yet somehow I’m eating too much, but am I really eating too much or am I eating the wrong foods and how can I go to bed hungry and wake up ravenous and still not lose a pound and why the fuck is this so hard?

Keep it Simple, Stupid

Or as it is now politically correct to say, “keep it stupid simple.” But I’m Gen X, so… screw that. Sorry, not sorry.

As I’ve said before, it’s so, SO exhausting constantly thinking about this stuff and wondering when/if/why. But I’ve found through my recent experimentation with “routine” that reducing the number of decisions you make each day is a VERY good thing.

I now have a set exercise schedule:

• Monday: Pilates class and walk/run

• Tuesday: Gym - leg day

• Wednesday: Walk/run

• Thursday: Pilates class and walk/run

• Friday: Gym - push day

• Saturday: Long walk/run day

• Sunday: Gym - pull day

If I feel I need a rest day, I can be flexible, but this is what I’m striving for.

I ’ve been doing really well with exercising, but I started to have some pain in my knee and SI joint this week. The dilemma then becomes, do I work through it and hope I get stronger or do I rest and hope that it heals?

I did both, trying not to overthink it. I modified my workouts slightly, used a heating pad, stretched, and kept moving. I took one day off, but that wasn’t intentionally because of the pain - it was more just a tired, busy day.

And now, Saturday, I am feeling mostly better. Phew. It’s frustrating to have the motivation and have your body backfire on you.

I’ve also been simplifying my diet. I’ve never liked eating the same thing over and over, but I’m realizing that having a few key meals that really work (in terms of my goal to increase protein and decrease sugar/processed foods) is a good thing.

Not every meal needs to be a sumptuous repast. Sometimes you just need to fuel your body. Keep it simple.

This Week’s Three E’s

Exercise

I exercised every day this week except Friday. I’ve walked, lifted weights at the gym, and gone to two Pilates classes.

Eating

This was a good week for me in terms of eating. I stayed around 1400 calories per day, did not eat a lot of sugar, and got 70-80 grams of protein a day. I’m aiming for 100 grams per day, but that’s tough. I’m happy with my progress though!

Ease

I’ve also had a good week of calm. I went to the infrared sauna three times. I’ve been meditating most days. I’ve been knitting a lot. The most stressful thing I’ve encountered is writing this newsletter. ;-)

Even though I had some joint pain and felt a little tired and discouraged this week, writing this newsletter makes me see that I AM making progress. I’m showing up and I’m slowing down. I’ll take that as a win.

Until next week, stay strong and keep trying.
~* Shannon *~