Category: Physical

Here I Go Again

As I write this, today is the last day before I begin doing Optifast again.  Where I live, there is a weight loss clinic that offers two similar programs – Optitrim, for those wanting to lose less weight, and Optifast, for those wanting to lose a larger amount of weight.  My husband and I did Optifast about 3 years ago and had very good success with it.  I lost over 80 pounds, and we got engaged shortly after we completed the program.  After a year, we were still doing well, got married, and then I got pregnant pretty quickly after that.  For me, that was the beginning of regaining all of what I had lost plus more.  Sure, some of it could be attributed to the pregnancy, but now I have a toddler and the weight is still there.  For me, it is time to get back on track, so Optifast is what I have decided to do.

Optifast is medically supervised, but it comes with some definite caloric restrictions.  I’m honestly nervous about how it will go this time around.  Will I be able to lose the weight again?  Can I be as successful?  Will I be able to do it with a toddler around who is eating normal food?  My husband may also do it again, but he is not going to start just yet, so will I be able to watch him eat?  I know it is going to be a lot different than 3 years ago, and I know I am going to have to have a lot more willpower.  But, I know I have to try.  I know I need to lose some weight and get healthier again.  There are so many important reasons to do it, and I am looking to those reasons to get me through.

So, we’ll see how it goes.  To me, getting started is usually the hardest part, so hopefully by the time I post this things will be right on track.  Here’s to getting healthier again!

Down Time

As I write this entry, we are the beginning of a short work week, well, at least for me.  I only have to work three days, and then I get a four day weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It hasn’t always been this way.  When I worked in hospital pharmacy, I frequently worked a lot of holidays and weekends, and a four day weekend was pretty rare.  I’m still not too hung up on whether I would have to work the holiday or not, but what I wouldn’t want to give up is the consecutive number of days off in a row.  I mean, four days in a row?  It’s a beautiful thing that my recent Monday through Friday day jobs have given me when Thanksgiving rolls around.

That being said, what I am really looking forward to is having some additional down time.  Ahhh, that elusive time to decompress and relax.  My hope is that in those four days I will get to do some really laid back activities – watch some TV (which I do little of these days), take a nap, watch a movie, have decent and lengthy conversations with people, do something creative, play a game or two (even though I am very picky on what that is), slowly enjoy a glass of wine…I’m sure I could go on.  Now, I do have a toddler, so that list might have to be modified a bit, but hopefully some of that down time includes my little one relaxing as well.  Also, I have worked really hard to clear my calendar as much as possible for this long weekend.  There are a few things to do, but for the most part it is optional.

How about you?  Are you getting a long weekend soon?  If so, how do you plan to unwind?  My hope is that everyone has chances for down time throughout the year, but especially around the holidays.

Leadership

I have recently received the honor of being elected as president of a state board that works on issues related to mental illness.  This will be for 2018, and I am looking forward to collaborating with many people to help with education, support, and advocacy around mental illness.  The great news is that there is a lot of momentum and passion, and I can’t wait to see what progress we make in the coming year.

That being said, I am now a formalized “leader”.  What exactly does it mean to be a leader?  What exactly is leadership in the first place?  There are definitions out here, but I think leadership is defined by each individual.  To me, leadership is about setting an example and creating a vision.  It is about speaking up and asking questions.  Essentially, to me, everyone is a leader, whether it is a formalized position or not.  In my book, anyone who tries to persuade or guide or work with anyone is a leader.  And, I think it is safe to say that most of us fit that activity.

Broad definitions aside, I am spending some more time reflecting on my formalized role.  What exactly do I envision for the organization?  What examples do I want to set?  How do I want to speak out more for mental health issues?  How can I make more connections so I can ask more questions and work on more solutions?  There is a lot of work to be done, and my hope is that by reflecting on these questions I will be better able to lead in the next year.

How about you?  In what ways (formal or informal) are you a leader?  What does being a leader mean to you?  How can you better exemplify what you think it means to be a leader?  I think these are some great questions to consider as you reflect on how you are a leader.

Cryotherapy

Not too long ago, my husband and I participated in a silent auction.  One of the items up for auction was some free cryotherapy sessions, and we put a bid on that item because it sounded interesting.  We won the sessions, and now we have finally had the chance to try it out.

To begin, cryotherapy is essentially “cold therapy”.  Very cold temperature exposure is used for potential therapeutic benefits, and although I don’t know much about the entire area, I know that there are different types of cold therapy out there.  For example, I have heard about people taking really cold showers or immersing themselves in ice water baths.  And, while some of that sounds horrible to me, what we did was different.

Our session was pretty short compared to other therapeutic sessions.  While massages, acupuncture, and so on might take 30 to 90 minutes, our cryotherapy sessions were 2 minutes.  Our understanding was that the maximum you could work up to was 3 minutes, and after the session I could see why that was the case.  Basically, we stood in a tank (our heads were above it) while cold air surrounded us.  And it was cold – not painful, but it really took my breath away several times.  And, as I discuss this I want to mention that there are many contraindications for this therapy, so it certainly is not for everyone.  Also, even if you are ok to try it it may not be of interest to you.

My husband and I are going to try it again, but I don’t know if I will do any more after that.  I feel pretty wimpy about cold, so even with such a short exposure I’m not sure how often I would want to do it.  However, I encourage everyone to at least learn about cryotherapy and see if it might be beneficial for you.

Helping Everyone

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed by all of the issues in our world.  Things like homelessness, human trafficking, illiteracy, hunger, domestic abuse, child abuse, and many others make me very upset, and a lot of times I don’t know where to begin.  I am sure I don’t even know all of the issues out there.  How am I supposed to be of service in this world when there is so much work to be done?  What are the most important one(s) to focus on?  What kind of impact can I have?

I think it is really easy to get paralyzed by this – there are so many causes that I want to help, but I can’t help them all.  I am trying really hard to focus on a few areas, namely mental health, but even then I get distracted by everything else that is in our world.  However, this afternoon I had an insight that has really made me feel better about being able to help a wide variety of people.

The insight was that if I really thought about it, mental health touches every person in the world.  As a result, by working on mental health, I am also touching issues such as homelessness, human trafficking, illiteracy, hunger, domestic abuse, child abuse, and so on.  Ultimately, all of these issues are interrelated, so I actually do get a chance to help with them all.  I realize that it might sound highly idealistic, but this has given me a lot of comfort as I try to be of service in the world.  Overall, I feel that by helping with one issue you are more than likely helping with them all.  So, all of us should be proud of how we serve others.  We are truly making a difference in many small and big ways.

Tennis

In my last entry I talked about visiting New York City.  The big reason we visited at this time of the year was so that we could go to a session of the U.S. Open professional tennis championships.  I don’t think my husband was too excited about it, but after seeing it in person he was really enjoying it.  This was also my first time watching tennis live, and I loved it, but I had already suspected that I would.

Why the U.S. Open?  I’ve actually been a fan of tennis for quite awhile.  I started watching the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open during the summers where I was old enough to stay home on my own but not old enough to work.  My brother and I would watch the matches, which helped us to learn the sport.  We even tried to play tennis sometimes, but most of the time was spent chasing after the tennis ball.  Even today, I am thinking about taking some lessons if I can find a way to fit it into my schedule.

Why tennis at all?  I’m not sure I have a great answer for that.  It has just been something that I casually enjoy, which is great, because I don’t feel all that obligated to keep up with it if I don’t want to.  It is great to have an interest that I can dabble in and out of when the mood hits me.  Tennis of course can also be great for your physical and social health, so when I do engage in playing I can get benefits as well.

How about you?  Do you have a hobby that is around when you feel like dropping in and out of it?  It’s certainly not a requirement in life, but it can add to your enjoyment of it, and I encourage you to look into it if you are interested.

Self-Defense

Recently I had the chance to take a class related to armed self-defense.  In other words, the class was about fighting someone when you are also carrying a weapon.  I am by no means an expert in this area, and in fact I am pretty much a sponge when it comes to this information.  Shooting a gun, carrying a weapon, self-defense – these are things I have heard of but have not really made an effort to actually study.  I mean, it looks fairly straightforward on TV and the movies.  In my mind, my strategy has always been to “just kick my attacker in the crotch”, because that seemed like an effective idea.  Clearly you can see how naïve I have been about the whole self-defense thing.

While the class gave me many “a-ha!” moments, what my overall takeaway was is that there is a lot to learn about shooting guns, carrying any type of weapon, and self-defense.  There are many different strategies and considerations that come into play when defending yourself, and safety is important as well.  After all, you don’t want to end up being hurt by your own weapon if you can avoid it.

So, while I wouldn’t call it a new hobby, I have started diving deeper into self-defense.  Why?  Part of it is I want to exercise my right to bear arms.  Most of it, however, it to protect myself and/or my family if need be.  Hopefully that day will never come, but at this point in my life I think I would feel awful if something happened that I could have prevented by being more prepared to defend myself and my family.

How about you?  Have you ever wanted to learn more about self-defense?  I don’t want to scare people, because it isn’t necessarily the nicest thing to think about, but it can help to alleviate fear by being prepared.

Aromatherapy

Have you heard the term “aromatherapy”?  If you haven’t, basically it is like the word would suggest – it is therapy based on smells.  Typically the idea is that they are smells that are relatively pleasant, and they can help to soothe, calm, stimulate, etc.  Lavender, vanilla, and citrus scents are some examples.  A lot of times aromatherapy gets placed together with essential oils, since these can be used for aromatherapy.  To me, essential oils is a somewhat different world.  Depending on what is being done, people will ingest, vaporize/nebulize, or topically apply essential oils.  There may be some overlap with aromatherapy, and it may all be in how you define it, but for me aromatherapy is all about the smelling.

Aromatherapy can be more than using essential oils – there are candles and potpourri, plus there are smells around you that can be soothing.  For me, I love the smell of the ground after it has just started raining.  I also love the smell of Worcestershire sauce.  For many, certain foods have a smell that comforts and/or excites people.  How about you?  What smells do you already notice in your world that elicit a response from you?

I think aromatherapy is an interesting way to help people, especially in regards to emotions or mood.  What a wonderful thought that by smelling something you can feel better or less tense.  To me, that sounds better than taking a pill, if you can avoid it (of course, sometimes medications are necessary).  As far as I know, there are relatively few side effects from aromatherapy, so I encourage you to think about how it might improve your life.  What smells do you like?  Are there some that are soothing to you?  Some that inspire you?  Some that motivate you?  Have fun thinking about how smells can enhance or compliment your day.

Blood

While I do currently serve on a board and also participate in other “one-off” volunteer activities, there is something that I do every few months that takes up relatively little time and energy.  And, although I didn’t do it during pregnancy and breastfeeding, I am glad that I have started giving blood again.

I started donating blood 3 or 4 years ago, and it was a major step for me.  I used to be incredibly afraid of needles, and donating blood probably requires one of the biggest ones you will encounter.  But, I knew that if I was eligible I should do it.  I knew my donation could literally save a life.

I do a regular donation of blood every 8 weeks (you can’t do it more frequently than that).  Some people will do a “double donation”, so they can only donate every 16 weeks.  There are certain rules and restrictions to donate, and there have been times I was not able to (pregnancy, hemoglobin too low).  And, while breastfeeding did not prevent me from donating, after talking with my doctor I decided it might create issues with supply, so I did not chance it.  Overall, there may reasons that you may not be able to donate, and that is ok – I think it is at least worth checking into if you can.

For me, donating takes maybe an hour.  The discomfort is also fairly minimal, and the staff has always been great at giving me ice packs or reclining me to help me feel ok during the donation.  Then, at the end of your donation, there are free snacks and beverages!  Of course, you need to take good care of yourself before and after you donate, and drinking lots of water before and after is one of those items.  I try to drink a lot of water before I go in, and that seems to help a lot.

Whether you have donated before or not, I encourage you to check into it and/or continue to donate if and when you can.  Donating blood is a great way to give, and I love being able to help others in this way.

Stepping Out

Although it has now been awhile, I took some time off during the middle of one of my work days for a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) event.  The event itself was great, and I actually felt like I had done something important during that time as well.  I am not going to get into the details of the event on this current post, but today I wanted to focus on how good it can be to step out of your regular routine (that is, assuming you have a regular routine).

For some reason, I always feel surprised when this happens, but in hindsight this almost always seems to be the case.  Breaking up your regular routine can be so rewarding.  For me, I think it is easy to feel like I am doing the same things day in and day out.  I have days where I wonder what might pop up and make it different, but I don’t always notice or take the time to determine what is special about each day.  I think stepping out of your regular routine can also change your perspective and open your mind.  Once I’ve done something different from the usual (vacation, take the day off, take a long lunch break, etc.) my world seems bigger and better from the very small focus I had before.  For me, it is so easy to get wrapped up in my own little world – changing things up and stepping outside my regular routine can help remind me that the world has so much more than what my brain will limit me to sometimes.

How about you?  Do you feel like you are doing the exact same things day in and day out?  Is there a way you can change up your routine every now and then or more frequently?  To me, breaking up a routine can be refreshing, and I encourage you to take the opportunity to see if doing so inspires you as well.