Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts

Friday, August 1, 2014

August 1st, 2014 It's The Living

August 1st, 2014 It's The Living

Two different co-workers stopped me today, independent of one another, in order to comment on my changing appearance. The people that see us everyday are typically the last to notice because it's a gradual change--until they do a double take and realize, oh wow--some changes are happening here! They see the care I take in preparing my lunches and they see the food I keep in the employee kitchen. I often share some of what I'm preparing too, especially extra fruit. When I started making my food tweets a non-negotiable accountability tool, I also started getting some mild teasing from colleagues about snapping pictures of anything and everything I eat. My obvious success has pretty much shut those down.  Also, where I am emotionally, mentally and physically--is helping me be a better studio-mate. I'm taking more pride in a job well done. I'm going the extra mile. I'm being proactive on certain projects. Why? Because I feel so much better about ME.

I'm excited about the swim on Monday evening. I've received several messages from some wonderful people about their nearly identical struggle in this department. A couple have even gone as far as committing to doing it with me. Not here of course--but in their part of the world. That's exciting to me. Monday evening when I'm overcoming and accomplishing this personal swim challenge, so will others. I absolutely cannot wait to share the details with you here on Monday night. If you're doing it too--I hope you'll also share your experience here! I plan on shooting a short video and taking pictures too. This is a big deal to me. Am I a little nervous? Yes. I have a feeling my nervousness will be relieved upon entering the pool and will amp up again when it's time to climb out of the pool and head back to the locker room.

I plan on sleeping as long as I like in the morning, so I've taken advantage of some extra time tonight to catch up some on emails and blog reading. I've also made some changes to the left hand side bar of my blog and I've changed a few other things in the name of general blog maintenance.

I haven't accepted advertising on my blog for the longest time. I did try Google Ads once, a very long time ago--but immediately shut it off when I found advertisements making ridiculous weight loss claims. Uh, no. It was early in 2009--Day 165, five years ago, when I wrote the post "My Integrity Isn't For Sale." 

I've recently decided to accept specific advertisers--but only for things I use and believe in, naturally. I don't expect a rush of advertising--and that's not the goal, but soon you will see a logo on the left hand side of my blog for Pyure Brands Stevia. I've reached an agreement with Pyure Brands that is very simple. When I use their product in preparing something, I'll mention their brand. And the Pyure logo will adorn this blog. I'll likely contribute recipes to their growing list. That's how this started. I Tweeted my cinnamon and stevia baked pears and Pyure brands immediately requested permission to use the recipe, sending me product in exchange. That works for me!

My oldest daughter Amber and I attended a Readers Theater performance tonight of the Pulitzer Prize winning play "Fences." It was so incredibly powerful. Amber and I share an appreciation for acting and moving stories and this one was tops in both regards.

After the play, we picked up her boyfriend KL and headed for dinner out at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. I stuck with the tried and true, employing my strategies for successful restaurant calorie budget navigation! It was a great evening. Feels good, you know? To be so alive, aware and present each day. This whole process is about much more than a shrinking waist line and smaller number on the scale. That stuff is happening too, of course--but it's the living--the different perspective, changing attitude--the being more present and aware, the feeling of peace and clarity, these are the most powerful things along this road.

I'm extremely excited about where we're headed. At the same time, I've exercised the ability to bring it down to a nice calm focus on today and today only. Grant me the strength to make it through another day and I will. And those days add up quickly. I'm overjoyed.

I chose to make today my no workout day. I will be hitting the Y tomorrow and Sunday late morning/early afternoon for my next workouts. And of course, the swim on Monday!

My meal tweets:














Thank you for reading and for your wonderful support,
Strength,
Sean
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Thursday, July 24, 2014

July 24th, 2014 A CrAzY DaY

July 24th, 2014 A CrAzY DaY

I knew today would be a challenge and it lived up to my expectations. It wasn't a challenge with food and exercise, it was a challenge in scheduling. This is easily one of our busiest weeks of the year at work. It's the annual Crazy Days celebration, when we have all of our regular on-air and studio commercial production duties, plus multiple location broadcasts scheduled everyday. "Crazy" is a pretty good description. I know the schedule in advance and I can plan accordingly, but today's and tonight's duties proved to be a challenge for even the most well laid plans.

I had a work related road trip tonight, the details of which are confidential. I was more than fairly compensated for this extra duty, so no complaints. If this had been a normal week, It would have been an easy decision to take a day off. But this is Crazy Days week, so taking a day off in the on-air/production department isn't an option. The trip was three and a half hours one way, seven hours drive time total--and with a few stops along the way, total drive time was a little over eight hours. And the trip didn't start until after six pm.

My schedule earlier in the day included my live morning show, production duties and two location broadcasts before passing the baton to a colleague who wrapped the final three hours of the location broadcast schedule. My first broadcast was at a casual dining restaurant from eleven am to one pm. Normally, I could plan, prepare and pack my own food for lunch, but in this case--I couldn't take my own food inside and it wouldn't have been very good form to excuse myself to the broadcast vehicle to eat something other than this restaurant's food. I thought about waiting until my one to two pm break and simply eat at home. That option actually made good sense because I live two blocks from this particular restaurant. It was suggested we eat lunch during the broadcast at the restaurant--but still, I wasn't quick to dismiss my best plan. After carefully scanning the menu, I asked the restaurant owner a key question: Can I order items separately? She said yes, so I placed my lunch order: A small chicken breast and asparagus. The asparagus was some of the best I've had because it was prepared with good olive oil and seasonings. Instead of the typically low calorie count, this well coated and seasoned order "cost" me 158 calories. It was fine, I had the calories to spend. The chicken breast was small, bringing my lunch order to 289 calories. I decided to add some calories as soon as I arrived home for my break. I did a broadcast from a combination furniture/antique/clothing store between two and three pm, then at three I was free to do what I needed to do before departing on the travel mission I accepted.

In hindsight, I probably should have used the time between three and six pm to nap, considering the large amount of driving ahead. But I took a day off from my exercise schedule yesterday and I couldn't accept taking two days off in a row. I haven't had two back to back days off from exercise in over 100 days. I wasn't resisting the workout today, in fact, I was looking forward to it. I took a change of clothes into the Y and made my way to the men's locker room, changed and stepped onto the elliptical for a good sweat. I've been increasing my intensity level of late and it's really making the same old workout feel new and challenging again. I'm overdue for a change-up in the exercise department, but today wasn't the day for something new.

By the time I made it home, I had enough time to shower, change and prepare my dinner for the road trip. I wasn't going to allow myself to get into a food situation where I would have to choose between bad and worse. I wanted some certainty in my food options. I packed a little over 600 calories for the trip. It was plenty for me--and it took me right up to my limit, serving as dinner and my #lastfoodofday.

I enjoyed dinner (on the plate I packed) once I arrived at the destination. I stopped twice on the way home to use the restroom, wash my face and make sure I was alert enough to make it. I had phone conversations with Amber and my mom too. I assured both that if staying awake started to become the slightest issue, I would pull over and sleep. I fell asleep at the wheel when I was seventeen years old, so trust me--I do not drive if my eyes and body start shutting down. That accident twenty-five years ago kept me from injury, in my opinion, by divine intervention because I was completely unconscious and somehow I drove off the road at the only survivable place. Ten seconds later and it would have been a completely different story, a tragic one. I've been so blessed in my life.

I made it home at 2:30am with a full schedule once again starting at 6am. I plan on negotiating a scheduling change with a colleague in order for me to get the sleep I need after my show concludes Friday morning.

My schedule wasn't healthy for me today, I understand this. It was a very rare circumstance, thank goodness. There was no way for me to drop in bed at two thirty or three am and expect to wake up in time for my Friday morning show, and missing the show on this particular Friday isn't an option. I'll sleep after my show. This is totally crazy. But it's one day and my body will make up the deficit between now and Monday. Today's schedule likely didn't do my metabolism any favors either, but again--today was a very rare circumstance.

My meal tweets today:








Thank you for reading,
Strength,
Sean
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