Fall Archives - Words To Run By

Weigh-In Wednesday Weekly Stats

Weight Watchers Week Number: 23

Lbs Lost this Week: – 3.2

Lbs Lost Total: – 14.0

WW Stars Earned this Week: None

Food of the Week

I’ve been eating more raw vegetables and fruits this week – like a salad or fresh apples. I am not sure if it is what helped the weight loss or not. If I’m hungry, I grab a fresh-picked from the farm Honeycrisp apple!

Activity of the Week

Yesterday I had my 16-month follow-up appointment with my hematologist (medical specialist who treats diseases and disorders of the blood and blood-forming organs – sounds scary, right?!). I talked to him about my lack of motivation to exercise ever since I ran the 5K in June. He thinks I may have done too much, too fast and my body wasn’t really ready for that – even though I did it without outwardly hurting myself, even thought it was over a year after my blood clot. I told him I had to do something, but the motivation wasn’t there and it was feeling more like a burden than anything. I told him it wasn’t that I didn’t know what to do or how to do it because I did – it is just a matter of making the commitment. For some reason this time, either my heart or brain or both isn’t into it. He told me to commit to walking at least 20 minutes a day, even if it is on my treadmill while I am surfing the internet (he showed me how to fashion a desk for my treadmill) or watching TV at night. He asked, “Do you work on the computer for at least 20 minutes a day?” I said, “Oh my gosh yes!” He does the same with his dictation notes every night before he goes home. Just gets on the computer/treadmill and types them up/walks. He said, “Add some running in here and there as you feel like it, but don’t set out to run if it’s stressing you out, just walk and see what happens.” I have made the commitment to walk for at least 30 minutes a day, starting tomorrow. Time goals worked really well for me the very first time I started running to help me weight, health and run a half marathon. I would run for seconds then minutes then miles at a time. My hematologist also agreed to following-up with my other doctors about the current status of my thyroid, which I already have planned.

Personal Weight Loss Goals (crossed off when reached)

I want to lose…

~~10 lbs~~
20 lbs
30 lbs
35 lbs
40 lbs
45 lbs
50 lbs
55 lbs
60 lbs
65 lbs
70 lbs

Personal Fitness Goals (crossed off when reached)

I will…

~~Run a 5K~~ Read all about it here.
Run a Quarter Marathon or 10K
Run a Mud/Obstacle Race
Run a Half Marathon
Start Strength Training (again)
Backpack (more)
Start Biking

Reflections

Thank you a thousand times for all of the kind things you said last week. It helped more than you know. I feel infinitely better not only having lost this week, but having spoken to my doctor and come up with a set, doable plan in my eyes.

Reader’s Recap

Don’t miss my Pepper Palace Fall Hot Sauce Review. It’s divine.

Blog School Update

I’m in Blog School with Rita over at Blog Genie and for the next six months I’ll be working really hard to make this blog the best it can possibly be. I’m really excited about this, especially since I was the recipient of one of the Fall Scholarships (for which I am extremely grateful). This week’s update: I switched my subscription manager to MailChimp (it’s free too!) and have to rebuild my subscription list from the ground up. If you like reading my blog (or you just like me or want to humor me with my practice at putting a form in a post!) and never want to miss a post by having it delivered weekly to your inbox, please subscribe below:

Photo Recap

Just because it is fall and I love this.

Question of the Week

How did you first start exercising? What kind of goals did you set?

Until the next mile marker,

What I’m Longing For

The truth is, we are far too consumed by our lives to pay attention to the things that really matter. We get wrapped up in our cell phones, televisions emails, Facebook, blogs and Twitter to the point that we can’t even fathom, “What would I do without these things?” The truth is, we don’t really need them like we think I do. And I, for one, often find myself longing for a simpler time.

Apple Butter Festival 2012

It’s fall, one of my favorite times of the year, and I have spent the past two weekends searching for simplicity. I need to get away from the noise and static of everyday life and reconnect with not only nature, but what really matters – family, friends, nature, good company and good, whole food.

Two weeks ago, I visited the Apple Butter Festival and the Ned Moser cabin, built in the 1800’s. I have since been longing to reconnect with the simplicity of the pioneer times.

I sometimes wish I lived in a time when we cooked all of our meals over an open fire or hearth. The campfire brings people together, meals used to take longer to prepare, whole families used to join in on the cooking and whole communities used to come together to eat. No TV’s, no computers, no grabbing dinner on the go.

Early settlers drank primarily apple cider because their water was not always safe to consume. They made their cider with a press by hand from bruised and damaged apples. They drank from deerskin cups, which they crafted themselves.

There were no indoor restrooms.

And they kept all of their vegetables, fruits, meats and cheeses cool by storing them in an underground root cellar. These are all things the early settlers would have built on their own, with their own two hands. They had to survive on the land with the tools and resources they could find or make on their own. We have lost so much of that today. We want everything fast, easy, convenient, cheap – and it is taking a massive toll on our health to harvest and eat highly processed, highly contaminated foods.

But there was warmth and comfort and a true sense of community and family. This place felt like home, even though I had never set foot inside the cabin before.

Each board and nail was carefully constructed by hand – not like today where you can order a house and practically have it mailed to you – to look like every other house on the block. Not this cabin-

People often say to me, “Yeah right, you couldn’t live like that unless you really had to.” But, I disagree. I have always felt a strong connection to the simplicity of a time that has long since come and gone. I have always loved to touch, feel and be in the presence of old things – whether they be structures or items or works of art. Sometimes I feel as if I belong there rather than here. We all came from these times, why do we seem to forget them so quickly? Sure, I would miss some modern conveniences like cell phones or computers, but what do they matter, really? Sometimes I feel like a part of me still belongs in the past. Can you imagine looking out of your home you built with your own two hands at this, everyday?

October 2012

There is so much beauty to be witnessed, even in life that has passed.

How do you feel about days gone by? Do you long for them or a simpler time? Do you ever feel the need to disconnect, unplug and decompress? Tell me in the comments!

Until the next mile marker,