Too Much of a Good Thing?

Too much of a good thing? What am I talking about? Is there such a thing? Read on until you see my point..

I thought I was doing a healthy thing, but, I’ve gained a lot of weight here lately. I don’t drink sodas or expensive coffee drinks. I don’t eat a lot of junk or processed foods. So why suddenly, well not suddenly because this takes time, but why?

I thought I was doing the right thing..

I was blending up fruit. Using this blender thing with a cup that holds three and a half cups of water (I measured) depending on what I had and usually I had most of it. I would blend a banana or two depending on size. I’d then add blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, a blend of flax, hemp and chia seeds, and sometimes a slice of cantaloupe. To that I’d add a tablespoon of protein powder and a large dollop of peanut butter and sometimes plain Greek yogurt with probiotics. I would eat this thinking its all natural and therefore better for me than the chocolate I crave. Except for one thing. An estimated calorie count. If all of the aforementioned ingredients are in the mix..1134. Being estimated since I never measured, simply stuffed the fruit into the blender, it could go up or down. Either way, this concoction plus lack of real exercise, has caused me to put on enough weight that almost nothing I own fits right. Over the past few months I have gone from 140 pounds to 151. Ouch. I have not weighted this much since I was pregnant with my son.

My mother made the comment that she didn’t understand that considering how much I have been doing. What I have been doing, doesn’t take a great deal of effort and doesn’t count as exercise. Especially since I would simply walk down there, walk the dog, fill their box of firewood then come home. Some days I would take them where ever they needed to go, but that was driving and included very little walking.

I had planned on going to church this morning. The problem is that all of my clothing is still piled up and scattered because of the work remaining on the floor. (Not that I am complaining, waiting is not a problem) I either can’t find and or can’t get to anything that might fit and not make it appear as if I’m about to split the seams. I’m not wearing jeans and a sweatshirt to church. I know, it isn’t what we wear that is important, it is being there, still there is a respect thing. So now add frustration on top of the discomfort.

After realizing the other day that my clothing selection was becoming severely limited and that spring is not that far away, I knew I had to do something. Because simply purchasing a whole new wardrobe is out of the question.

Months back I was given a very nice treadmill. I admit that I had fallen off using it lately because it was difficult to spend time walking when mom and or dad would call needing something at any given time. So I would answer their call, take care of their need, come home and often times, sit down. Or, fix that monster of a treat and sit down.

The past four days I have been using the treadmill again. I have made a point to spend at least an hour total walking. Not all at one time but breaking it up into sections of time. I also have begun changing the incline and speed settings. I’ve tried adding carrying small dumb bells (2 pounds each) but I may not be quite ready for that  yet. As it is, I turn on some good ole rock and roll, and begin walking. It helps that as I walk, I’m looking out the window to my back yard and the woods beyond. I can imagine strolling through the woods as I count up the steps.

I’ve been researching exercises that target the belly/waist area so to strengthen and tighten the core muscles that have expanded to this point. Some of which call for a fitness band, that I had. I say had because for some reason Molly in her canine puppiness, decided to chew on the thing destroying its usefulness. Sad thing is she did it right in front of me, but I not paying full attention thought she was chewing on one of her chew sticks. Bad things happen when you ignore the kids, be they human or animal.

I’ve cut down on how often I prepare the fruit concoction. What I need to do however is so that I still get those important fruit servings, is cut down on what and how much I add/pour/shove in there. When I make this, use two fruits and the seeds with either the protein powder or peanut butter-much less peanut butter at a time. This will also help with my grocery bill as fresh fruit is expensive. Less expensive than doctor bills or medications but expensive none the less.

I’ve begun to drink more water. I still drink my coffee early in the day, but its your basic black maybe with a slight bit of creamer. Later in the evening I drink hot green tea blends, but interspersed in there is the water. Tap water from my well, not bottled for many reasons.

I do love a good salad, but to make the kind I prefer, is up there above and beyond the cost of the fruit. I don’t like purchasing ready made salads as they usually contain a lot of salt. If I were to be honest, I’m not sure I’m getting enough vegetable servings so I may end up preparing a batch of individual salads to where I would have them ready and waiting when hungry pains strike. My dad loves a good salad as well so I would have one ready for when the craving strikes him.

I’m trying to make sure I get enough sleep. Nearly every article I’ve read mentions getting the proper amount of sleep. Funny how I’m almost sleeping better on that air mattress in the floor than in the big bed

I write all of that, to get to this point. We can have too much of almost anything. We can collect all that too much, often without even realizing what we’ve done. I had no idea I had as many pair of old boots and shoes until I had to clean out my closet for the floor repair. Most of which were worn out and should have been tossed long ago. Over time, I’ve collected a lot of clothing due to purchasing without purging. A few things are older than my son. Currently most of this I cannot wear. As I have been going through drawers and cabinets, I’ve come to find things that had been placed out of sight and when I didn’t find them, purchased another of the same. I currently have close to a dozen measuring cups. This can hold true not only with material things, but with our thoughts and actions. Because our thoughts, often become our actions.

If we allow negative thoughts to take a foothold, they can grow quicker than clothes hangers in a closet or Wisteria vines on a tree. If you’ve never seen a Wisteria vine, while they have beautiful flowers that pollinators love, they also send out vines in every direction. They can and will take over an area quicker than ants can swarm a picnic. Such is negative thinking. One, well I messed that up as usual, can turn into an I can’t do anything right, to I’m such a loser, to I’m just worthless.

Having thoughts of, I only need one more, can be a deception to ourselves. Only one more pair of shoes, one more pet, one more modification to the truck, one more snack, can lead to quite a collection, quite a monetary drain, quite a growth in weight.

Did you know, that you can drink too much water? Well you can.  https://www.healthline.com/health/overhydration

What then, can we not have too much? I offer for consideration this partial list in no particular order of importance. Kindness. Compassion. Peace. Positive thinking. Faith and a relationship with God. A strong prayer life with helps with the list of positives. Patience. Encouraging those around us. Keeping physically fit which helps mental health. A proper diet in proper portions. Realizing a mass collection of material things is not as important as we wish to think. Exercising our mind as well as our body. Socializing. Spending time in nature, even if its on a bench beside a tree on a busy street. Enjoying music, a good book, the sight and sound of children and adults at play. There are so many positive things on which we can spend out time. The good thoughts in which to fill our head and heart rather than the material things that merely fill our closets.

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