Tag Archives: Health

Things You Won’t Find in My Apartment

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Something I find interesting, is what things some people find necessities while others don’t. Here are things that I do without:

An iron – Yeah, I’ve never owned an iron. I’ve rarely used one. When something has to be ironed, I usually beg someone else to do it for me. My seminary graduation robe? Yep, my mom ironed it for me (thanks, Mom!). In the days when I had a dryer, I would just take my clothes out of the dryer out immediately, and that was good enough for me. Now that I don’t have a dryer, I do need to invest in some wrinkle release.

A washer and dryer – Like I said above, I don’t have a  dryer. In fact, I don’t even use a dryer anymore (though I’ll still be drying my sheets and towels that way, but will save them up to do one load a month). Not having a washer in unit is already getting old, but a short walk for laundry is good for me. I don’t mind hanging my things to dry, and enjoy the fact that I’m saving over $0.80 a load (not to mention the “costs” of shooting more coal smoke into the air we breathe). I don’t need these things.

Coffee pot - I don’t drink coffee. I’m glad I never started. I’m going to have friends over in a couple of weeks that might prefer I serve coffee, but I’ll just let them know if they want it, they have to bring the pot and coffee themselves. Actually, I only have one coffee cup, so that could be a problem too…

Coffee table - You may have noticed in my apartment tour that I don’t have a coffee table. Not having one was a conscious decision: I felt like it would clutter up my small living room. I still think that way, though it would be nice to have a place to put the stack of books I’m currently reading while I’m in the middle of reading (I do have a place to put them “away”). Probably should invest in some TV trays as that could solve that problem.

A bed big enough for 2 - I don’t invite others into my bed (at least not before he puts a wedding band on my finger!), so my single bed is enough for me. I wouldn’t mind a bigger bed, I suppose, but it’s definitely not something I need.

Knick knacks – I have two picture frames (both with pictures from my brother’s wedding) besides the ones on the walls, and a vase with some fake flowers in it. Besides that and a few candles (that I use), I don’t have anything that would qualify as “knick knacks.” It’s very freeing.

More than 1 sharp knife – I have one knife that I got when I went to college that I’ve always loved and used exclusively. I looked up where to buy more like it, and that’s when I found out it’s actually a really nice knife, a J. A. Henckels. No wonder I like it! That said, I couldn’t justify buying more, but I will put it on my wish list.

Internet access - This also was a conscious decision on my part. If it was important to me, I could work it into my budget. I even had a generous person in my life offer to pay for my internet, but I politely turned them down. I have nothing against the internet, but it’s a big temptation for me. I can spend way too much time on it watching TV, spending time on Twitter and Facebook, and checking my email. I spend 40 hours a day in front of a computer…I’d rather use my free time to exercise, write, read, and serve others.

Plastic bags – By which I mean what we always called “Walmart bags.” Actually, this is a bit of a lie…there currently is one Walmart bag in my apartment, left over from the move. I’ve been using reusable grocery bags almost exclusively for over a year, and will definitely be keeping this up.

Now for a couple of things I hope to soon do without:

Paper towels - I bought two rolls when I moved in, and promised myself they will be the last. I bought a pack of rags that I can use for situations I would usually use a paper towel. This isn’t an easy transition, but I think it’ a good one.

Traditional cleaning products – I have already made my own kitchen cleaner that works well (equal parts vinegar and water). When the bathroom and toilet cleaners I have are used up, I plan on making my own of those as well. I still have a full container of laundry soap, but when I use that up, I’m actually looking forward to making my own laundry detergent. I haven’t made up my mind if it’s worth making my own dishwasher detergent or not, but I’ll make that decision later, as I still have a huge tub of the stuff that will last me a long time.

I’m not someone obsessed with natural things. How can I be when I still drink Diet Dr Pepper? But I do enjoy saving money and introducing less unnecessary chemicals into my home. It’s a journey, and I’m taking the next steps down the road.

What do you do without that others find a necessity?

One Step at a Time

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Every day since June 1st (it just happened to be the first when I started, that wasn’t my plan), I’ve taken at least a 20-minute walk.

Yes, every day for the last 6 weeks.

I’m only now mentioning this on the blog, because I was hesitant to post about something I wouldn’t follow through. I’ve done this before, only to give up after a month or two. I still might give up, but I don’t think I will.

Even when I found out about the move two weeks into doing this, I still kept it up. With packing and other busyness I haven’t taken as long as walks as I’d eventually like (mid-June I was up to 60-minute walks), but I plan on ramping that back up after I get settled in my new place. Next week is also camp at church, so every evening will taken up by that.

I know that this is *only* walking, but it’s making a difference, because I have been losing weight. I’ve lost 16 pounds since April (got a jump start with the pneumonia, losing the first 7 pounds). I still have a long way way to go, but it feels great to have loose pants and a noticeably ( to me) smaller gut. This is a crucial time for me weight-loss wise, because the last time I was this serious (summer 2006), I lost 16 pounds before falling back into bad habits and gaining again. But I’m hopefully that taking it one day at a time, one decision at a time, I can continue towards better health.

So what makes me think this time is different? The motivation is different, for one thing. I’m not obsessed with the numbers of it all. It’s more like a report card than anything.

Instead of primarily wanting to look better or get a man, I primarily want to honor God through my choices. And choosing to self-indulge again and again doesn’t honor him.

I’m not perfect at this yet. But the walking has helped. My body’s intolerance for as large of doses of sugary things as I once indulged in has helped too. Cutting my budget to eat out a whole lot less has helped, too.

Two books that have also greatly helped me in this journey are Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. Reviews to come.

I say this all to encourage you that you too can make positive changes in your life, whatever those changes need to be. We aren’t the centers of our own universes.

Photo by parl

Lifestyle Changes

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I may have forgotten to post yesterday. I apologize to my family and friends who were worried that I fell down a well.

I’ve mentioned it before that it’s been hard for me to stay on top of things during tax season. While my personal life is not any crazier this time of year, it sure feels like it is. The combination of only working in my regular office every other day and the hectic days themselves make the weeks go by so fast this time of year. It’s like I blink and it’s Friday again.

The last couple of weeks have had added complications. For ongoing non-life-threatening medical issues I won’t go into publicly, I’ve been prescribed a medicine that does two things to me (beyond what it’s prescribed to do):

1. Causes what I’ll euphemistically call “digestive consequences” every few days which I believe is exacerbated by eating sugary and fatty foods.

2. Causes Diet Dr Pepper to taste nasty.

While most people would likely be more thrown off by the first side effect (which I’ll agree is not pleasant), the second one has thrown me for a loop. Not that I need Diet Dr Pepper or even feel like I must have it, but it’s just about my favorite thing to ingest. But now that it tastes nasty, I don’t even really want one. In the past week, I have had some (not even finishing the drink), but only because it comes with my Chick-fil-a meal.

Since I’ve never been one for coffee or tea (and have no interest in changing that fact), that means I’m now caffeine free. It’s made for some interesting mornings. I’m not sure I ever woke up on Friday. I think this will be a good change, but it will still take a little bit to get used to.

The good thing, though, is that this drug definitely gives me motivation to make the much needed diet and exercise changes. While the craziness of tax season still encourages me to eat out a couple of times a week and hinders me from going the pool, I can take baby steps.

Speaking of steps, that is the baby step I’m taking in the exercise department. I ordered this pedometer that I had heard good things about…I highly recommend it. My previous $3 pedometer certainly wasn’t cutting it…what’s the point of a pedometer if it doesn’t count ALL your steps? This one does and much more.

So I’m working up towards walking 10,000 steps in a day. It’s something that I can do on my crazy days as well as on my less busy days.

So far the baby steps I’ve taken have definitely helped me…I’ve already lost 2.4 pounds, and I feel like I’m losing weight, if that makes sense. It’s in the small things!

Disclaimer: I received and will not receive any compensation for the good things I said about the pedometer. Just want to share something that’s helped me!

Photo by Nick Harris1

Game On!

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Ever since I heard about the Game On! Diet on Twitter, I knew that I’d have to play.  Anyone who knows me in real life (and has had the pleasure of playing a game with me) knows I’m a wee bit competitive.

So what better way to establish good health and life habits in a competitive way than to play a game?

So, my roommate and I are each captaining a team (there’s 9 of us total)in this 4-week game.  There has been a little trash talk going on…that’s just who we are.

You can follow the link above if you want to know more about how the Game On! Diet works (we’ve customized it a little bit–particularly the food portion), but basically you get points for food choices, water, exercise, sleep, and replacing a bad habit with a good one.

It’s exactly the motivation I need to make these changes…and not just for the 4 weeks.

So all I’ve got to say is: Game On.

My team is totally winning.

Photo by ohnoitscoco

Food is Not My God

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Since the end of tax season, I’ve been working on getting new (and old) habits in place.  I thrive on a routine, so I knew that establishing a good one early was key.

One of my major problems for both healthy living and a healthy budget is the amount of fast food I was eating.  Part of that was fueled by the stress and busyness of tax season, and part of that is just my weakness for junk food and ice cream.

So, once tax season was over, I made the plan of not eating out unless:

1.) I’m with a friend.

or

2.) My schedule requires it (usually just on Wednesdays).

It’s not been easy.  And I’ve not been perfect, either.  If I was graded, I’d probably have just barely squeaked out a C that first week.

But I’m doing much better than I would have been if I hadn’t even tried.

As hard as it is to admit, food is an idol in my life.  I really wish it was something that you could quit cold turkey. Progress would be easily measured then.  Instead, I’ve been having to work on ways to not let my desire for food rule me.

One thing our pastor said Sunday in his sermon on lust and purity was this: Say “Sex is not my religion.  Jesus is my religion,” when temptation comes.

I’ve adapted that for my struggle and now when the temptation hits, I’m telling myself, “Food is not my god. Jesus is my God.”

I might have to say this a dozen times a day, but it’s a great reminder to put food in it’s proper place in my life. It’s a great blessing, but it is not my ultimate comfort.

I’m like a child…I can’t make myself eat something I don’t want to eat.  If I try, I seriously gag.  So, the key for me is to keep it something that I want to eat, but that is also cheap, easy and healthy.  Monday, I’ll post recipes that I currently have in my arsenal that I know make great leftovers and are tasty and decently healthy.

Photo by Tammy Green

More Wedding Weekend Details

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* Because of the potential wrinkle of snow/ice, we left for Georgia at 7 AM on Friday.  It was 37 degrees when we left Raleigh.  When we arrived in Newnan, Georgia at 3 PM, it was 26 degrees.  We went from North to South, from the coldest part of the day to the warmest, and we lost 11 degrees.

* Even with the cold and the snow on the ground in Newnan (just a dusting, but it was too cold to melt) I still wore flip flops the morning of the wedding.

* I know this’ll sound vain, but my hair looked GOOD.  All it took from my usual hairstyle was a couple of crystal-studded bobby pins.  I’m going to have to put my hair back like that with bobby pins more often, because it keeps the long curls around my face from looking droopy!

* Though I’m very thankful I didn’t trip, I did lose feeling in the entire bottom half of my feet during the ceremony.  Since the Lutheran service next week will be much longer than the Baptist one, I’m going to have to get creative on how I won’t lose feeling in my toes.  I think the key is not to wear the heels one minute longer than I have to before the wedding, which was a strategy I took up only after the wedding this time.

* It was nice to walk back down the aisle at the end of the wedding and actually recognize a couple of people.  This next wedding, I’ll recognize more than a couple…

* Not quite weekend-related, but I went to the doctor yesterday for a physical and was told that I’m significantly short on Vitamin D.  I cut out tanning last year for health reasons, but it seems like it’s had the opposite affect!  The good thing is that while I haven’t had any noticeable symptoms, it was caught so I can be treated.  I think my body’s been telling me all along that I need the sun.  Low Vitamin D levels have been linked with fatigue and joint pain, so I’m hoping getting back to adequate levels will give me more energy and help the pain in my knees.

* Also, my glucose is high, so I now have doctor’s orders to exercise and cut out some carbs…something I knew I should have been doing anyway.  Having the doctor tell me, though, is what I needed to actually do it!

Friday Updates

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I’m still definitely leaning towards going to Europe in the summer.  Everyone: family, boss, you all is saying “go for it!”  There are still some possible reasons why it’s not a good idea, but for now I’m going to assume I’m going unless it’s clear I shouldn’t.  That said, since everyone is all for it, I’ll let them pay for it!  Kidding…unless, ya know, you have money you just don’t know how to spend and I can help you out by letting you spend it on me.

Still haven’t killed my flowers, and they’re as pretty as ever.  I’ll have to figure out what I want to plant next year…I have a whole lot more options as I’ll be in a townhouse (99% sure on that one).

So far I’ve lost 3 pounds and have already gotten compliments on it.  What’s better, is that I’m feeling skinnier, as I seem to be loosing it around my middle.  I tell ya…I think it’s the increased water intake as that’s the biggest change I’ve made thus far.

This weekend I’m helping a friend move into her new home and I’m super excited for her (it’s also the aforementioned townhouse).  It’s just perfect for her and I can’t wait to hang out with her there!

I realized that it has been 2 years since the fire when a friend mentioned her second anniversary (the fire was 2 days before her wedding…and yes, I made sure she wouldn’t find out about it until afterwards).  It really feels like it was forever ago.

I Smell Like Change

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Monday morning, I didn’t know what would hit me.  But by Monday afternoon I had decided (all my decisions are of-the-moment, though these are things I’ve been thinking about for weeks in the back of my mind):

a.) I did want to take the 8:30-5:30 shift (working 1/2 hour earlier) that was offered me over a month ago.

b.) I am ready to commit to getting healthy instead of just thinking/talking/putting it off.

For me, these two decisions go hand-in-hand.  In the 4 years I’ve been working the same hours (and to think before that my shifts changed DAILY), I’ve gotten lazy, taking more time than needed in the morning.  This just wasn’t cutting it.  I’m all for relaxing, but dragging out what should take 30-60 minutes into an 1 1/2 hours, sometimes even more, is ridiculous.  I just simply wasn’t starting off the day on the right foot.

So as I was thinking about building better habits into my life, I realized that if I changed my schedule, I could have a new start at better starts to my day.  So far I’ve done this twice, and I’m enjoying it.  Working earlier does mean a little more traffic, but getting home earlier (and to bed earlier!) helps me be a happier and–along with the other changes in my life–healthier person.

The big commitment I made Monday was to join SparkPeople.  I’ve been contemplating it for ages and have heard good things about it, but I just took the plunge.  I love that it allows me to easily track my meals (most foods’ nutritional information is pre-loaded into the system already), track my exercise, and track my water consumption.  There are plenty of encouraging/informative articles and things too (some are a little too just-love-yourself-more for my taste).

Isn't my water bottle cute? Bonus: it's better for the environment than those dumb styrofoam cups!

Isn't my water bottle cute? Bonus: it's better for the environment than those dumb styrofoam cups!

I’ve been doing this for a couple of days now, and though it’s a bit premature, I think it’s going to work for me.  It appeals both to my competitive nature (you can earn points and it keeps track of “streaks”–how many days in a row you’ve done your self-selected goals) and my visual, analytical side (it makes graphs for you).  I also like how it’s not pushing me…my beginning goals are each day to go for a walk, write in my journal, eat 2 fruits/veggies, sleep 8 hours/night, and drink half my weight in ounces (which is umm, a lot!).  These were pretty much my goals before, I just am now getting visual accountability for them.

While I need to lose weight, my real goal is to be healthy.  I’ve been overindulgent, and when I am overindulgent in one area of my life, I am in all areas of my life.

As an out-of-the blue bonus of these changes?  Don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t “need” a Diet Dr Pepper in the afternoon the last 2 days (though I still drank one on Tuesday, anyway)!  That’s a habit I’ve had for almost half my life…

Laboring on Labor Day

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So one major thing happened this weekend that I was absolutely not expecting. A couple of hours into my Saturday, I realized that I had lower back pain that was severe enough I could barely move it. I could only walk like a 90-year-old man: in baby steps, leaning on anything within reach, and taking breaks every few steps. This pain continued into the afternoon and slowly let up to where I could walk almost normally (yet with a lot of pain) by the evening. Sunday it loosened up some (thankfully, since I work several hours with the kids). The pain is still there now, but it is less crippling and more of a nuisance and a bother, limiting bending down and extended periods of movement. Who knew you could age 50 years in one day?

So now you know what I have not been doing this weekend. Not that water skiing or marathon running was really on the schedule anyway. Really, the back pain has hardly affected my plan for work this weekend. So don’t feel bad for me. There are plenty of people who are actually laboring on Labor Day. I’m merely doing what I love: reading. So far this holiday weekend I have:

  • Read 200 pages of Ed Welch’s Depression: a Stubborn Darkness, to finish it
  • Read 1 chapter of Don Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
  • Read 60 pages of Alvin Reid’s Intro to Evangelism
  • Read 60 pages of Will McRaney’s Art of Personal Evangelism
  • Read 50 pages of Robin Gaby Fisher’s After the Fire (heads up: I’ll be doing a giveaway of this book when I’m done!)
  • Read 90 pages of AJ Jacobs’s Year of Living Biblically
  • Read 40 pages of Julie Lessman’s A Passion Most Pure
  • Read 30 pages of Andrew Murray’s Humility
  • Done 2 loads of laundry (seems out of place, but there you have it)

Hmm. When you put it that way, it looks like I’ve done a ton! I would still like to:

  • Read 2 chapters of Spiritual Disciplines
  • Read 30 pages of Humility, to finish it
  • Read 30 pages of A Passion Most Pure
  • Read 55 pages of Art of Personal Evangelism
  • Read bits of other books, too
  • Unpack

Considering I barely did anything Sunday, it’s looking like a very productive weekend! What have you been up to? Did you use Labor Day as a fun holiday or a work holiday?