Okay, it's been a while - there's reasons for that - I won't go into all of them. suffice to say that just when I thought I was back on track and ready to go into what the doctor has agreed to (no pills for a while - hooray!) I got shingles so was derailed a bit.
Anyway, I've only got a short (3 month) window to get my blood pressure and cholesterol in check or I've got to seriously consider the doctor's request to take medication.
It's easier said and done as stress is apparently playing a big role, but I'm going to give it my best shot!
Obviously the first port of call is my weight. Don't get me wrong. I'm not humungously (is that a word) in trouble here. I had been doing well, dropping a stone and a half, when the doctor first put me onto blood pressure tablets. The weight then stopped dead and exercising got more and more difficult due to the side effects of the two tablets we tried! Now I'm off them it's time to really concentrate on slimming down.
Exercise has always done it for me. Particularly running!
Sadly, due to work on our seawall my regular ParkRun exploits sort of ground to a halt as my knees object to running on sand. Along with some time pressures it all got put to one side. Luckily the ParkRun is back to it's usual route, my shingles (let's not go there) have gone and I can grab back my Saturday mornings for this week!
I still get to tennis, but the doctor also wants more strength training. I used to go to dance and martial arts fitness at our local sports club. The class times no longer fit in with what I can do so I was in a bit of limbo. I haven't renewed my membership till I work out if it's worth it just to use the swimming pool - time has been my enemy again there. So, as I had a good time during the pandemic with online classes I've decided to restart those. The package I've picked also has some quick start programmes to try to get you into the swing of it quickly. I did start the initial one until the shingles got in the way. The plan is to begin again at the end of this week when the diary is a bit clearer.
I'll report back on this first element next time - along with my eating plans - I'm still working that one out as the summer is a really busy time for family birthdays and there's just far too many temptations for success. Next week will be a good time to examine how to adjust my willpower there!!!
The other thing that's well and truly slipped has been my making. I haven't got to my spinning group in ages and I've been too tired to concentrate in the evenings. I did manage one or two bits though...
Birthdays mean cards and mini presents so that gave me the kick I needed to get these done...
I've also managed to keep up my SubStack contributions. I did think that was going to sink without trace as well as so much other 'stuff'. Then I thought I could keep my weekly posting going by being a bit kinder to myself and readjusting my expectations. For August I'm sticking to a photo and a quick message to go with it to give myself a rest from the pressure of regular longform writing till September.
How's that?
Now I've written it all down I feel like more's been moving forward than I originally thought - hooray!
I'll let you know how it all goes.....
