Breaking Bad

I feel as though I may have named a blog "Breaking Bad" already. If so, my apologies, and we'll call this part 2.

I began somewhat of a healthier routine this week. I pledged to do some kind of exercise every day. Nothing major. I'm not training for a marathon or planning to drop 50 pounds. Just make myself move and try to break a sweat. I also promised to incorporate better foods into my meals and not fall back on junk food all of the time.

I think I did a pretty good job in both areas. Was I perfect? No. I had pizza and fries at least one day. I went out to dinner Friday and Saturday nights. Okay, there may have been some ice cream involved, too. But I also munched on almonds, raisins, bananas, grilled chicken and fish throughout the week.  And I exercised every day. Except Friday. And Saturday. And probably today. It's Sunday. I have to go to bed super early. Back off!

Otherwise, I enjoyed a variety of activities this past week: weights and jogging at the Y, walking Jack around the neighborhood, yoga in the living room and steps on the Wii. I think I also danced to some music in the kitchen Friday morning. It helps having my exercise log to mark things down. It makes me accountable. I'm still holding off on the food diary. Too much work. I have to have time to read my Kindle and do other "me" things.

Speaking of that, I'm starting to realize there really is no greater form of "me time" than eating the right foods and exercising. I usually think of "me time" as eating chocolate, drinking wine, reading magazines, bubble baths, massages, pedicures, shopping, etc. But what could be better for you than treating your body with a little TLC? Not that those other things aren't awesome. I'm totally going to continue to enjoy them, too.

I'm not trying to lose weight. If it happens, great, but then I'll have to get a new wardrobe. The scale puts too much pressure on me. I did have one true success. I didn't have fast food all week. Usually, I stop at McD's or Taco Bell or both by Friday. But that's when I have no time to throw something together in my lunch bag that's easy and manageable. Which is often. I'm chronically late. And I can't exactly have a 3 course meal while typing furiously on the night shift. But time and simplicity are no longer excuses when I have a constant supply of oatmeal and other readily available snacks at my disposal. 

This is not a diet. There is no New Year's resolution. Again, that's too much pressure which leads to failure. I figure I can't quit being lazy and eating badly cold turkey, right? Even smokers get patches and gum. And it's better than doing nothing at all and staying on the clogged cholesterol train.

Doctor's Orders

Last week, I was told by my doctor during my annual checkup that I may be heading (at warp speed, in my opinion) into menopause.

WHAT?

But Mitzi, you say, you're only in your early thirties and you look 25!

Bless your heart.

It's true. My doc thought it was a possibility. The fact that I don't have a monthly visitor bothered her more this year than it did the year before. Because I told her the exact same thing in 2011, and she said it wasn't a big deal. At that time, lab work indicated my thyroid was out of whack. It wasn't serious enough for me to have to take a hormone, but the doc said I may feel better if I did. Since I wasn't feeling horrible, I opted for the vitamin option.

But I digress. Back to the "change of life" conversation. Really? Really! My first thought was WTF? My second thought was, well that will end any lingering questions about having a family. But I didn't break down and cry, yearning for my fertility. I did, however, stop and think about it a little bit. I wasn't too thrilled about the option being totally taken away from me.

Turns out I'm not menopausal. I think I knew that deep down. I had no other symptoms: hot flashes, memory loss, etc. Instead, I have high cholesterol. My orders are to cut down simple carbs, up the fiber intake and get moving. I assign myself different exercise every day on my phone calendar: go to the Y on Monday, do yoga on Tuesday, walk with Jack on Wednesday, etc. But I often end up blowing said exercise off, especially if work runs over or I'm just too tired. This time, I've decided to make a chart (like I did for Bug's meds) so I can give myself a variety of choices daily and check them off as I do them. That way, I can view the week as a whole to see what exactly I'm doing.

The food part is hard. I like to eat. And I like to eat all of the bad things. I thought about keeping a food diary as well, but that's so time consuming. I've been trying to buy healthier food at the grocery store for some time now. I know better. I know Pmo and I aren't getting any younger and if we want to stick around, eating healthier is a big part of that.

It could be worse. I have friends who live with fibromyalgia and diabetes every day. There are women my age fighting breast cancer and other life threatening diseases. There's a whole world of health problems out there I know nothing about. So for now, I know that my biological clock is still intact, it has not stopped, it's still ticking. But I'm sure it's winding down.