Simple Living Challenge

Today is Saturday and time for my Simple Living Challenge that I participate in with Jenn of A Daily Rhythm.  I didn't post last week because I was sans computer but now Lucy is here working with me so I am back on track -- I think.

Ok, this last week was not good, not productive, not organized--just not much of anything except a tiny bit of chaos and not for any good reason.  Do you ever have days/weeks that whatever you plan it just goes awry?  Or perhaps you forget to plan at all?  Yes, that was moi this last week. 

So, let's see -- on my Scripture Study -- well, I lost several days for no reason except that I just lost my focus.  I made up for it yesterday as I sat down in the early morn with my nice cuppa and my Bible and started where I left off, not worrying about the progress that had been not been made before.  I am reading through the New Testament and using a Bible devotion book that we get at our church.  I started with the Old Testament but got done in my all the names.  I will return to it soon but had to move on with something a bit easier to read.  That's bad, isn't it?

My eating plan -- ok, here is where I discovered something completely astonishing and unexpected.  I am using the intuitive eating method and it works quite well if you allow yourself to slow down, stop eating long enough to note how you feel and discipline yourself to quit when you are full.  I am not having a problem with this process as I feel that eating slower is a good thing for digestion to begin with.  However, I slid back into my old mindset and decided just to make sure that I was following the rules I would just write down what I eat -- not measure, not count calories, just write it down.  WELL! The minute I started doing that I started craving stuff all the time and I would eat it and then write it down and before you know it, I was totally off my plan.  My plan is three meals a day, nothing before bed and maybe a snack in the middle of the afternoon as we eat lunch pretty early.  When I went back into "diet" mindset, i.e. food journaling, I was hungry.  If I don't do that I do ok.  Talk about mind over matter! I was shocked.  So, for me, this just showed that dieting doesn't work, even sort of dieting.  New plan -- trust my body, not my mind!

Housework has gone a bit off this week as we had to care for a sick and ailing g-daughter and then we were sort or sick and ailing ourselves thanks to our mucky air.  I did do my floors and have now caught up with the laundry that went wild over a couple of days but all is good now.  Yesterday was productive even though I didn't really realize it.

Exercise --  Ok, I was doing really well until Tuesday.  Previously I had been working some exercise in over the course of the day -- not trying to do it in one go.  Until Tuesday.  Tuesday I decided to just do it all at once.  Well, I got on the floor to do my sit-ups and those sorts of things and when I got up my head was just suddenly killing me.  All the way down my neck.  My thought was -- oh great -- trying to get rid of the flabby knees and now I am having a stroke.  So, I got up, took some aspirin, set still and went to bed.  The next morning I was fine but I decided that maybe I was just a wee bit long in the tooth to do a long exercise session so I gave it a day or so -- a few pilates along the way -- and just rested.  I will start up again today -- slowly for sure.  I don't mind telling you that it sort of scared me and I was reminded that I am no spring chicken and I have not been on an exercise program for quite a while and perhaps using some common sense would be in order.  If I had done that, I wouldn't have lost three days to no exercise at all -- lesson learned.

Cooking -- I shopped last week and cooked  for several days.  It was ok and Hubs even ate what I cooked -- novel idea, there Hubs!  Since we are both down with allergies, complete with coughs and chest congestion, I will be cooking tonight as well.  Tomorrow it is Mother's Day lunch with MIL at her place.

So, that is how my challenge went this week.  It was off -- I was off -- but I did learn something.  Clearly the dieting issues was enlightening and so was the fact that I just don't have the personality to adhere to a strict moment to moment schedule.  I didn't get the Bible study first thing most mornings but I did get it done.  I didn't get the laundry done first thing in the morning but I did get it done.  I had to regroup due to not being at home for a couple of days but that was ok.  I have learned that flexibility is key -- set your goals and go about meeting them but if you have to shift things around that is ok, too.  So, this was truly a week of learning a lot about myself and that is always a good thing. 

Sorry this was so long, I am certain not many people want to hear about my struggle with laundry to listening to my tummy talk to me but this is a way of keeping me on track.  Aren't you glad it is only once a week?