Day By Day

I've found two books that I'm liking what they teach, and this week I've started doing each of their programs. The first is an eight-week course in meditation. The title of the book is You Are Not Your Pain. I ordered it from Amazon and it came with a CD that has eight ten-minute meditations on it, one for each of the eight weeks. So on Sunday night I started doing the first meditation. You're supposed to do it twice a day for at least six of the seven days each week. I missed last night. Too tired. I missed this morning. Too much commotion. I tried it after lunch. It was good but I was sleepy and my mind wasn't staying focused. I plan to do it again tonight.

The other book is called The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss by Kathy Freston. It's on the online library on my phone. It is exactly what the title suggests, and it's perfect for me right now. The whole idea is that you "lean" into healthy habits, adding a new one each day for 30 days. I know I may miss a day and need to spend more time on a day here and there, but I feel like this is the answer to my prayer to get healthy before my doctor appointment next month. I know I won't get healthy in a month, but if I do the things this suggests, I'll have a good start, and my hope is that my blood cholesterol levels will have dropped below 200 so I won't have to go on medication. I've already resigned myself that if I do have to go on medication then I'll get over it.

So on Monday I drank lots of water. Yesterday I ate oatmeal with raisins and fresh strawberries and almond milk for breakfast. Today I've done those two things plus eaten an apple. (Actually I've done those three things each of the past three days.) Tomorrow's assignment will be the hardest so far: "Clean out the cupboards, and just for today say no to your poison." But, hey, you know, it's something I've gotta do, and why not start sooner rather than later. What are my poisons? Well, cookies and chips are probably the two biggest. After tomorrow it'll be pretty easy for a few more days again. Day 5 is Go a little nuts; Day 6 is Trade your milk and butter for plant-based versions; Day 7 is Put a little flax on it; Day 8 is Meditation; Day 9 is Switch up your drinks; and then we get to Day 10: Make your lunch without animal products. So that's when I'll have to avoid meat, cheese, milk and eggs for two meals of the day. And it won't be until Day 18 that I have to take them out of dinner, too. Anyway, it'll be good for me.

In the meantime, I'm on my third set of 10 miles as far as walking. I've also signed up to do a beginning running program. I've learned that when I track the program on my phone as a run, it counts toward the run; when I track it as a walk, it counts toward my ten miles. But I only signed up for the running program for one day a week, and my plan is to do it on Fridays. Last week it was 10 minutes long; this week it'll be 12 minutes long. Basically you alternate "steady" (walking fast or trying to jog) with "slow" (walking) in one-minute rotations for the designated time. I did the 12-minute one this morning, but I counted it as my walk rather than the run. I'm to the point now where I can run faster than I can walk, which is a first for me, so that's pretty awesome.

As I'm starting on this road to recovery, and figuring out who I am and where I want to go in life, I've decided to look at some 10-year goals. I'm still thinking about them and I'll share them when I'm ready. I'm wanting to organize my time and increase my study time and service time. I may sign up for some of BYU's continuing education free classes online.