Me and The Monster Forming a Plan

Allow me to introduce to you my new friend, The Monster.

Recently on a whim, I posted on social media asking if anyone had a treadmill that they no longer wanted or needed. Two people offered me treadmills. One we could never manage to get everything worked out, though I really do appreciate the offer. The second individual, we managed to set up a time when my son was able to go to see what was being offered. We had been warned it was heavy and we would need help, but my son is a bit on the arrogant side. He decided that he would be able to move it himself. He hooked his trailer up to the car and off we went at the scheduled time. Arriving at the house, we entered and went to see what we were up against. It was huge. There was no way it was going to fit through the doorway in one piece. Even if there had been an army working on the move, it was not going to fit. My son then began the task of dissembling the treadmill to the point it could be moved. It took a while but he finally had it to the point it would fit through the doorway. Thankfully the giver had a set of hand trucks.  We struggled, we battled, we worked determined to get it done. Finally, we had the treadmill out the door and secured onto my son’s trailer. We got it home and I left to take my mother to get her groceries. While I was gone, my son managed to get the treadmill into the house by himself. All of this was on Monday.

On Tuesday the giver sent me a message asking if we had managed to get the monster into the house. I told them we had and now I was waiting on my son to put it all back together.

Yesterday, Wednesday, he got busy and together we managed to get it all together and working. I figured out the basics of how it worked and gave it a trial run. Before I called it a night, I managed to get an hour of walking done. It was on a low speed and only slight incline but it felt good getting some exercise in finally.

My lack of exercise over the summer has caused me to put on weight. This would not be a bad thing, but most of the weight is belly fat. In the spirit of accountability I currently weight 150 pounds (I’m 5’9 so not short) and my waist is 39 inches. I am hoping the Monster will help me get that down. I’m uncomfortable and am limited in what I can wear that fits properly. I am working on a plan to bring myself back into better shape.

Get at least ten thousand steps done in a day. (Today I managed a little over 12000) Work to get accustomed to walking on a moving surface. As I adjust to one setting, change it to a more difficult level.

Watch what I am eating. I love peanut butter. I may love it too much though. I’ve been scooping peanut butter into the fruit smoothies and then later in the evening on a banana. Those calories add up quickly. My son is also not a lot of help. He keeps bringing foods or candies that he knows I’m avoiding, or at least trying to avoid.

Looking at the calendar I know how close our Thanksgiving Day is. I know how much food will be there for the enjoying. This will test my self control but if I want this badly enough, I’ll manage to eat responsibly.

I am working on getting my mindset right in all aspects of what I am trying to accomplish. Not only to lose the weight and inches, but to work on that cholesterol level. I need to get those numbers right to prevent them wanting to put me on medication.

I do know too, that stress makes a difference and can cause many health issues. I would love to spend more time in nature, but I have to stay close to home on the off chance that my parents may need something. I spent more time today listening to music, but I think I need to listen to classical music  at times because I find it calming. I also need to go back to reading more as there is nothing like getting lost in a good book.

I need to get better sleep. There are times that I awaken during the night. One moment I’m sound asleep, the next, I’m..not. It may be I got hot or cold. It may be because of an overactive mind. It may be any number of things, I simply have to learn to calm down and sleep.

I did spend part of today clearing away some of the clutter that had accumulated in my bedroom and in the kitchen. I put stuff away, I threw stuff away. I moved things to the places where they should have been to begin with. With each area cleared, it created more room to breathe. It brought on a calm feeling.

There is also my faith. I can place my concerns and fears in my faith and prayers. Expressing what worries me and where I need strength. I can listen to an audible Bible while walking on the Monster. I can spend time in prayer while automatically placing one foot in front of the other while attempting to reach that step goal. This will allow me to not only seek answers, but offer a time of distraction from the things that worry me.

I am on a mission to get healthier. I am putting a plan into place to make that happen. The Monster, will play a large part in making that happen.

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