The Weekend Review
It feels like I have been doing the Total Wellness Challenge for more than a week!
This weekend we had an annual family gathering to participate in the Race For Hope, in memory of my brother-in-law, Mark. It is a sad event every year, while also being inspiring and a nice chance to see friends and family, and to keep Mark’s memory alive. We have been doing this event for 16 years, and for the past 15 years have had a party at our house after the race. This year we had a smaller group, and by now we have the preparation process down to a science, but it is the focus of the weekend.
Saturday I was supposed to participate with my running group in a running event which entails several 5 miles loops around a field. It is a fun event, gathering with friends during the run having some snacks and a rest between loops. However, I cancelled my plan to participate in this at the last minute. It had been raining for two days and was likely to rain more during the event – I do not like mud! Also, knowing there would be lots of tempting snacks during the breaks was stressful, as I knew I would try to justify eating too much and eating non-TWC things because I would be running 10-15 miles. Finally, I had a lot of preparation to do for and event the next day, and had family coming to town, so it seemed best to change my plan. Running 8 miles locally early Saturday morning worked much better and was still fun and challenging!
I had a busy day and had a smoothie, half an avocado and some snap peas. Saturday evening I went out for dinner with some family, and was proud of myself for avoiding wine and choosing a sauteed fish dish with farro and vegetables for dinner, which was delicious!
Sunday was the first day I did not earn 12 nutrition points. We had an annual family gathering, and my willpower could not hold up to socializing and serving bowls of chips and snacks, and my husband’s homebrew beer! I made sure to have lots of veggies, which I focused on, but I lost some points for eating some tortilla chips and a small glass of beer. I tried to limit the intake, and while I was not always mindful of every chip I put in my mouth, I was paying attention to total consumption. I avoided the sub sandwiches, which I love, so felt glad I had some self-control. Because this day was about remembering Mark, who died of a brain tumor 15 years ago at the age of 23, it feels ridiculous to obsess over eating a few chips! At the same time, I didn’t want to use the “life is short” excuse to go crazy and not pay attention to what I was eating.
The lifestyle challenge this week is to meditate for 8 minutes. Knowing I would have a busy day, I did this first thing after I woke up, and it helped me approach the day with clarity, peace and compassion.
I have been keeping up with the stretching – mostly squeezing this in before I go to bed. I don’t think I will ever enjoy it!
It’s Monday
After a week or two of the TWC, it can be hard to maintain motivation. I found waking early today to be harder than it was last week – not sure if it is because I had some white flour and beer yesterday, or because I was just tired! I made myself get up and go to a spinning class. When I got home, I defrosted some chicken breasts and prepared two for a crock pot meal, and the other two for grilling. I placed those on the grill and let them cook while I cleaned up the kitchen and had my oatmeal and coffee. The crockpot recipe is a Whole30 Recipe for Slow Cooker Creamy Southwest Chicken I have not used before, but sounded good and easy! I used some of the leftover rub on the chicken I grilled as well. I can use the grilled chicken in recipes over the coming week and/or for lunches.
I already know that committing to the meditation – even though it is only 8 minutes – is going to be hard for me this week. I am using a free app called Insight Timer.
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