Birthdays...

... are disastrous! It will take some time to walk off birthday cake and other family celebrations. However, I remind myself that walking, walking, is good. This morning I read a summary of an article about research linking walking to brain health - that walking may slow down or halt the progression of dementia and Alzeimer's. It certainly helps clear the cobwebs in the mornings!

Reset

We are hearing a series of messages this month at church entitled "Reset." That's a good word for this week. Tomorrow, after the last of the birthday celebrations and birthday cake, I will hit "reset" for eating healthy. The fitness newsletters I receive and read encourage me in this: even if something (like a birthday) comes along to derail my efforts, I can still maintain healthy habits in some areas, like walking and eating healthy foods along with the cake. I do not need to let it all slide. Then it will be easier to get back on track for my fitness goals.

Balance?

Two walks, two cookies so far today. I guess one cancels out the other. Next step, increase the ratio of exercise and lower the cookies. Tough to do.

Weekend exercise

It seems almost impossible to get the second exercise session in on the weekends. One would think I would have more time then but it's harder to stick to my normal routine. I wonder how much housework and the other things I do on the weekends count towards exercise - I don't sit at the computer much on the weekend. Sometimes it's harder to eat healthy, too, but this weekend I tried to stay aware of that factor at least. It feels like it will take a long time to lose these few pounds. Tomorrow is Monday, a new week, back to the exercise (and eating) routine!

Reset goals

Once again, I'm telling myself that I should not eat unless I am hungry. This will take some rethinking and retraining, along with a healthy dose of common sense.

Sometimes I feel hungry between meals. It might be real, if I haven't eaten very much. It might be from habit, if I've been snacking at a certain time every day, and I might need to get into a different routine. It might be boredom, in which case I'll have to find a different way to multi-task. It might be that I'm thirsty, not hungry. I do like to drink water, sometimes I just need to remember between meals.

Getting back on track

One of these days - perhaps after vacation and retreat - I'm going to have to walk more or eat less. Or both. Seems to be an ongoing battle.

My recent nutrition and fitness reading included an article about seeds. I must admit, I've been discovering sesame seeds (using them more often) and flax seeds this summer. I could add sunflower seeds, but I'm not sure I'll ever acquire a taste for pumpkin or squash seeds. Are there other seeds that weren't mentioned in the article?

Good for what ails you

Walking (or exercise) is, that is. 4 miles logged today, 2 more to go. Looking forward to some good book time on a treadmill or a bike, if I can get one rigged up.

Discovered: I can do 30 high steps in the time it takes to make one color copy on my printer.