Day 1: Choosing to Love Myself and Own My Life. If you’d like to follow my journey and/or get caught up on all previous posts, CLICK HERE to be taken to the Superhuman Project Page!
Day 27. Saturday, January 2nd.
“Day 22 in the books! Get ready for new format tomorrow!”
That’s the last sentence I’ve written in this “daily” series. To say this last week didn’t exactly go as planned would be an understatement. Nothing “bad” happened, per se… just a bunch of inconveniences, frustrations, wasted trips to stores, tech issues, and other day-to-day snafus.
I stayed about 95% “on-point” with my diet/nutrition. We did eat Pho from the Noodle House once, and I had a glass of Champagne on New Years Eve. (at 9pm, just before we went to bed!)
Our upstairs neighbors (loud toddler who tramples around, sounding like an elephant, starting around 6:00 or 6:30am on some days) who were gone for two weeks – hence my awesome sleep, ability to sleep in, etc…- are back. (I didn’t even realize they were gone)
So… that’s gone now 🙂
Now I have to make sure I’m in bed by 9:30, or 10 o’clock at the latest, in order to get adequate sleep. Mira can sleep through much of it, but I can’t – so perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise (keeps me on healthy evening routine by force).
Instead of trying to write 4 “make-up” posts, I’m just writing a basic reflection and summary here – because, honestly, I don’t remember the details from some of the days. This daily writing had gotten to become a “chore”, something I wasn’t enjoying, and so I started slacking. I also felt my days this week weren’t very interesting/entertaining. It seems that my entire industry shuts down for 2 weeks around the holidays, making it very difficult to get things done. My work was inefficient and frustrating. I did work out a couple times, but have been slacking quite a bit in that department. Our meals were redundant/boring/leftovers, etc… etc…
For all of these reasons, I thought “nobody would want to read this anyways.”
Well, I was wrong. It’s exactly those times where people tend to “fall off the wagon”, resort to hold habits, backslide, etc… Therefore, it probably would have been beneficial for you to read posts from those says.
So… I’m sorry.
In regards to frustration with my industry shutting down and me getting frustrated with difficulties getting things done, I’m starting to think that was a sign (which I didn’t catch) that I was supposed to take a few days “off”, as well. I didn’t, after all, get too much done, and I let it ruin my mojo. Lesson learned.
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New Routines – Click to Enlarge![/caption]
I’m not going to write a big dramatic “New Years” post or anything like that. I’m not one for resolutions, or drama. I can say that yesterday was awesome. (New Year’s Day) I did a TON of planning, got my life back in proper working order, found my mojo, knocked out a complete morning routine, a lot of work, a workout (shoulder is doing much better), and got a lot of straightening and cleaning up done. I also spent a solid hour plus outside in the Sun, mostly with Marley at the dog park – all time walking.
I laid out some new “routines” for my mornings, days, evenings, and some “weekly” and “monthly” things as well.
I filled out our business calendar – and I can tell you, we’re gonna’ be busy! We have 10 podcast recordings between now and February 1st (Rebel Health Tribe Podcast coming soon!), a bunch of webinars, two “events”/promotions, and I’m going to be a guest on a few things.
Finally, I scheduled out my workouts/exercise/yoga for the entire month of January. Included are two full days of hiking in Death Valley, which I didn’t really write on there. This, along with the completed business calendar, and new 2016 planner that I got (15 minute increments from 7am-9pm!) last week should really help me cut down on the time I spent writing up my days/schedules.
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January Movement Calendar[/caption]
Mira and I are going to Death Valley, CA next weekend to meet up with her family and do some serious hiking. The weekend (5 days actually) after that, my parents are going to be here in San Diego visiting. Then, the final countdown to Nicaragua! It’s going to be a very packed 6 weeks… I’m confident I’ll be able to stay on top of it all!
Positive Results/Successes Thus Far
- Down 5.5lbs. (14.5lbs more to go to reach my goal)
- Diet 95% Optimal for 4 Weeks – aside from a couple business lunches, Michael’s visit, and a glass of champagne. Even when we “eat out”, it’s usually Pho – which is good for restaurant food.
- Fried food only one time (unbreaded wings), which didn’t go well with my belly.
- No gluten. Dairy (aside from ghee) was only in one of our meals/things we cooked. (Pastured butter in Jambalaya)
- Shoulder pain is reduced 75-90% (depending on the day), and I’m now able to do most exercise/movement. We’re going to try surfing again soon. It’s been so long, I hope I remember how!
- My mindset and relationship with food is greatly improved. I’ve handled stress better, and maintained mindfulness during difficult situations. (Not perfect, but definitely improved)
- I’ve probably averaged between 30-60 minutes more sleep per night than I was getting before. (from 7-7.5 hours to 8-8.5 hours on average)
- I’ve jumped through all the hoops with the doctor (testing, ultrasound on liver, etc…) to get the script to be able to donate blood, but haven’t received the script yet. I’m going to start calling daily. They were closed most of the last two weeks.
- I’ve ordered all the components (blood) that my doctor wouldn’t, and will be going to get another draw this week. Hopefully I don’t turn white/green and pass out this time! This, combined with my 23andMe data (w/ proper reports) will hopefully give my all-star team of practitioners the information needed to help me figure out ways to manage my iron overload/hemochromatosis from more angles than just blood donation.
- My itchy scalp/yeast issue is about as good as it’s going to get while still being unable to reduce my iron. I’d say 70% better than it was when I started.
- My energy and focus have improved, at least 50%, since I started – and I’m overall much more clear-headed and positive. This is good!
- Exercise/Training/Movement. Yes, I’ve done some. Yes, I do walk a lot. But I’d like to increase this and become more consistent. It’s not something that comes easy to me. I’m not one of those people who really loves working out (despite my years spent as a trainer), or even likes it. The calendar I made will be very helpful!
- Morning Routine daily. This has such a HUGE impact on the rest of my day, it can’t be overstated. I’ve been around 30-50% on this the last couple weeks, and I’d like to make it 100%.
- Eat more fish/seafood. We just ordered a bunch of sardines and mackerel. The DHA/Omega 3 fats are extremely important, and I’ve been slacking in this regard. Those small, cold-water, fatty fish are exceptionally nutritious with minimal toxicity risk. We’re also going to focus on getting some mussels and local fresh seafood once/week from our local fisherman as well.
- More consistency with supplementation. I’ve been pretty good, but tend to forget/blow off supplements with my evening meal. I’ve begun writing any times for supplements into my daily schedule, and that’s helping.
- NIGHT ROUTINE. This is the big one, and the hardest for me. I get to bed on time about 90% of the time, but I’ve noticed a HUGE impact on my energy levels the next morning when I stick to a healthy evening routine, am not on the computer, have the bright lights turned off, etc.. etc… We’re always good with the lights, but tend to watch things or do things on electronics too late. (Mostly me, and mostly work)
- Cold showers/cold water. I have an aversion to cold (especially water) almost as strong as my aversion to needles. Due to the fact that our “hot” water in the shower in the winter is luke-warm, at best, and our house is generally very cold (we don’t have heaters in our homes in San Diego, so it’s generally below 60 degrees in our house. Closer to 50 in the mornings right now.) – it’s very difficult to get myself to do any form of cold showers. When I do, I stay cold for the next hour or more – which is extremely uncomfortable and hinders my productivity, puts me in a nasty mood, etc… I just talked with Rebel Health contributor, Jason Prall, this morning – and he told me he goes in the ocean (59 degrees) for 20 minutes a day! Holy shit! I can’t image that! Hopefully, per his opinion, the increased/daily fatty fish/seafood will help with my cold tolerance, and I can start to implement a little more of this.
- Increased productivity with less time spent working. I have a new timer, and a new calendar, and new schedule, etc… and new planner, and etc… etc… etc…. so really it’s just up to me to make it happen. I’ve got to leave Facebook closed, not look at my phone, or look at my personal email during my 45 minute work blocks. When I do that, I’m extremely productive. The desire to look at those things is almost habitual at times, like I open it without thinking and then am like “what am I doing?!”. It’s a very difficult habit to break, and one I’m still working on. It’s a fine line between being compassionate with myself and just saying “NO. Turn it off!” and creating some kind of deterrent/punishment for myself. (Maybe I need a taser or something!)
- Coffee Enemas. Still haven’t done one in 4 weeks, and there’s really no excuse. Yes, it’s a “hassle”, and a little time consuming, etc… but I know how good I feel and need to make it happen.
- Get to the beach more. I live 3 blocks from a gorgeous beach, and I’m lucky if I see the ocean once/week. It’s chilly outside, I’m really busy, and feel I “don’t have time”. I need to make time. I’ve written it into my self-care to see at least one sunset per week, and I’m going to try and walk over there more often in general. After all, it’s not the emails I send that I’ll remember when I’m old and dying… it’s the sunsets. I need more sunsets.
