Staying on the Wellness Wagon

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I almost fell off my wellness wagon one week when I had a lot of evening work activities going on. Fortunately, I had the energy to pull it all together again. Here are the challenges I have been trying to find solutions for:

1. Healthy eating on the road. I am really starting to grasp the idea of making sure I pack a lunch. As I write this I am making a mental note to buy a couple of those little packs to keep lunches cool and maybe some handy compartmentalized lunch container. It is so hard to find healthy proteins out there that I guess I just need to start being proactive and preparing in advance. The second issue in regards to eating health on the road is the plethora of ice cream stands and convenience stores. Convenience does not equal healthy!! And the ice cream stands around here have kiddy sizes that would make a three year old topple over from the weight of it.

2. Exercise during the summer heat – I have a clubhouse with a treadmill and a television, but I really prefer the outdoors. However, the heat and humidity means I need to get up early to beat the rising sun. That was hard during the week I worked a few evenings. This past week, though, I found the motivation to get up and go for a good walk on two mornings. I also did a great fast pace walk on a wooded trail along the river on an evening when it was fairly cool.

If I take water and put a wet bandana around my neck it helps keep my body temp down.

3. Sweets – my urge for sweets has been increasing again even though I am not craving chocolate. I have switched to more fruity sweets. I am pretty sure that is not a good thing and I am seeing the doc the end of this week and will ask if I need to go up on the dose of my DL-Phenylanine. All of the stress of working long days may have reduced my dopamine levels and it may be time to give myself a boost. Or, as soon as it cools off, I may be okay.

4. Heat – I hate heat. I really do. I have no use for July at all and am not that fond of August either. I know there are people who love summer but I prefer a cold day in January over a hot day in July any time. Give me crisp October mornings and I am a happy woman.

5. Exercise and good food when travelling out of the state – I am leaving today for a three day conference in Chicago. I am packing workout clothes and walking shoes. The hotel has a fitness room and the conference agenda has yoga and walking scheduled for mornings. I hope they mean it. I am also going to ask the concierge to recommend a good vegetarian restaurant within walking distance.

Even with all of these challenges I am still enjoying my renewed energy level. This week I was not only able to travel all over and get in a few excellent walks, I was able to cook up a storm of vegan dishes for my writing group. Mary, Denise, Mary Kate, and Sally all came over yesterday and we had a great nosh before we started talking about our writing submissions for the month. I love to cook and having people for whom I can cook is the best. I can cook, have them eat it and take some with them, and I am not sitting on a pile of food that I am tempted to binge on. The menu consisted of Arugula and Tomato Bruschetta and Mushroom Poppers from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, my own version of the edamame bean salad from the local grocery store, and Vegan Lemon Bars from The Joy of Vegan Baking, also my Colleen Patrick-Goudrea. I meant to take a picture of it all but it was so good we all just dove in and started eating.

I have set a short term fitness goal of walking in the Cigna 5K on August 22^nd. If it isn’t too hot and humid I know I can do the 3.2 miles in less than 45 minutes. That is what I am working towards and will need to do a few training walks at a fast pace before then. I know I can do it!