Habits

I got some bad news today, very similar to the news I got when I wrote my Low Point post about a year and a half ago.

Someone who is very important to the work that I do in my day job has been let go.

But unlike last time, I'm much better equipped to handle news like this. Rather than fearing for my own job security, I'm checking the facts. I still have a job today. I wasn't let go when I wrote that last post, and I've actually survived many rounds of layoffs in the years I've been with my employer. I'm like the cockroach of the marketing department. I persist.

I was bummed though because I feel rather close to this person. I chalk up a lot of my successes to her. I just needed a pick-me-up, so I decided to indulge in some self-care today by going for my monthly massage.

Yup, I haven't given up the monthly massage habit. I have started seeing a regular therapist at East to West Massage in St. Petersburg, though, and can't recommend them enough. I'm relaxed, I feel great, and I always leave the massage table ready to take on whatever life throws at me. And I know exactly what I'm getting when I walk in the door, so my anxiety based on this massage experience has been eliminated.

Here are some other habits I feel good about:

• I am really getting into a groove with my workout plan. Early-morning workouts have become routinized, and I'm trading time between wogging and getting to LA Fitness for some strength training. LA Fitness is great and all, but I really wish something like the Nerdstrong Gym existed in St. Pete (they are only in southern California right now). All of their classes have a nerdy theme like "Bossfight" and "Defeating the Death Star." It's like Crossfit for geeks. I want!
• I do at least ten minutes of meditation or guided visualization every day, usually before bed. Ideally, I could take a break during the middle of the day to meditate, but it rarely works out that I have time to do it. Something is better than nothing though.
• I no longer eat anything after 6pm during a normal work week. This might change if I'm going to visit my father, or if I'm at Disney, or if something happens outside of my routine. Otherwise, I really limit eating to between the hours of 9 and 6. 
• I still volunteer every Monday night at the nursing home with Joey. I do, however, approach each night with some trepidation because I got attacked by one of the residents back in February. It was so out of the blue - this particular resident had always been very sweet to Joey - but now I know I have to keep my guard up and we keep our distance from her. She grabbed my arm as I was walking past and punched me in the chest. Fortunately, an 80-year-old isn't going to do much damage to me. It's my dog I'm worried about.

Although maybe she can do a lot of damage. It's three months after the fact and I still have scars from where she dug her nails in.

So those are my healthy habits. Exercise, meditation, intermittent fasting, and volunteering. What are some healthy habits you've cultivated this year so far? Leave a comment!

Blogroll the 12th

The EMP treatments at my doctor last week definitely made a difference. I went for a 5 mile treadmill run on Saturday with no side effects! So now I just need to work on re-adjusting to waking up early again for exercise... and the pain of waking up early is far greater than the pain I ever felt in my foot.

Some things I've been reading this week:

Train Like an Athlete:

• 3 tips that can save you from running injuries. Now they tell me.
• The best half marathons to get a PR. Guess which one is on the list. No pressure.
• 7 holistic techniques for losing weight. I consistently do about 3 or 4 of these things, so maybe you need to do all 7 for it to actually work.
• Weight management for runners. Summary: I won't be able to get faster AND lose weight at the same time. Depressing.

Eat Like an Athlete: 

• This woman's Whole 30 story sounds familiar. I'd pick it up again but... wine.
• 5 things I wish people knew about binge eating disorder. 
• How to break free of emotional overeating. 
• Should you fast before working out? I usually do since I'm working out first thing in the morning, but it hasn't really done much for me.

Think Like an Athlete: 

• Getting healthy habits to stick (I downloaded the "Way of Life" app recommended in this article to track some new habits I want to form. It's an ok app - if you know of a better one, please let me know in the comments!)
• 4 steps to letting go of fear to realize your dreams. 
• Introvert doodles.
• Chronic stress leads to anxiety - interesting findings in recent research on mice.

Sleep Like an Athlete:

• If you could pick the right foods to get the best sleep, wouldn't you?
• 5 reasons you're tired all of the time and what to do about it.

Fast (Not Speed)

I've read much over the last few years about intermittent fasting and how restricting your eating window within a 12 hr period is a good practice (even better if you can do 9 hours).

My schedule in the past never really permitted this type of practice - since I did my workouts right after work, it meant I usually could sit down to eat dinner between 8 and 9pm. If I could postpone breakfast until after 9am, then this would work out - but I could never wait that long. I think it's from years of having to get breakfast out of the way before sitting in traffic for 45 minutes to get to work. I work from home now, so I really could postpone breakfast but... I'm hungry! Years of habit.

Moving to morning workouts has changed things up for me a bit - now, it is much easier to get all meals in within a 12 hour window since I can eat dinner much earlier. The only problem is that it negates another "best practice" for athletes - incorporating a PWO (Pre-workout meal). I have included a space for PWOs in my meal logs at the bottom since beginning this blog, as I always wanted to remind myself to start making it habit.

However... now I'm not so sure it's needed. This article suggests there are quite a few benefits to working out in a fasted state. There are some mornings I've skipped the PWO, and some mornings I've used the GNC Pureedge Energy drink - I haven't noticed a difference, but I think it's because I'm typically kind of a mess in the mornings still. It's not truly habit yet.

Ah, breakfast. My husband has these Star Wars pancake molds from Williams-Sonoma. Pancakes are no longer my go-to breakfast though - bring on the eggs!

I think I'll continue to use the Pureedge energy drink until I run out, but I won't restock. I'd like to see how working out before taking in any calories works out for me.

156 days left.

Today's Exercise:  3 mile treadmill interval run @ Globo gym, arms

PWO	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
GNC Pureedge Energy	GNC Pureedge Protein, Coffee	Chili, coffee	Burger and fries

Timing Meals

Timing is everything, isn't it? I've spent the last 16 hours seething over my housing situation, cursing my builder for not giving us enough time to figure out a solution, when I realized that at least we have a week to find something. Sure, we could have had a better plan knowing this information a month ago, but could you imagine if we showed up at our new house with our movers and furniture in tow, ready to move in... and no keys?

Oh, I'm still seething mad, don't get me wrong. I didn't sleep at all last night, thinking of all the wonderful things I'd like to say to our builder's sales rep next time we see him face to face.

 I'm just expressing gratitude for the time we DO have to figure something out.

Anyway, I'm looking at my meal logs and see I've been neglecting the PWO portion of my meal plan for quite some time. Which begs the question - does timing of meals matter? This article focuses mainly on post-workout nutrition, not pre-workout fueling, and seems to show that eating shortly after working out improves performance, and that meal should be predominantly carbs and protein.

So I'm thinking my "PWO" now will stand for POST-Workout meal, and will be low on fat. I gave it a try today after my afternoon run. The problem is if I change to morning workouts, do I have my full breakfast of eggs beforehand? It doesn't seem like I could make that part of my routine. I'll be giving it a go next week once Daylight Savings Time ends and see how it goes.

169 days left.

Today's Exercise: Treadmill Run 3.2 miles (10 min/mile) @ Apartment Gym

Breakfast	Lunch	PWO	Dinner
Scrambled eggs with spinach, coffee	Chili w/ cheese, pumpkin tea	GNC Pureedge protein drink	Milkshake dont judge