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Tag: Accountability

Gatherer’s Gold Sweet Peppers, A Summer Garden of Guitar Greens, and A Great Start

Day 1 of 28 Day Refocus

Atlantic Beach, FL – August 2, 2021

It wasn’t much cooler than it was this weekend, but Codee actually ventured for a bit of a walk in the neighborhood before we headed to the beach. I might regret this comment if full on puppy suddenly comes back, but it’s really nice to see his energy level return. Fingers crossed that he doesn’t lose any mobility because I really don’t want to revert to the old dose of prednisone. This morning, he even started playing with one of his buddies again. It was such a beautiful morning so Codee played and hunted for snacks while I chatted with a neighbor. There is a pier not far from my beach access that offers some shade and that has become more and more important for both of us as August sets in.


In The Garden:

Gatherer’s Gold Sweet Pepper, Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 2, 2021

There aren’t many plants left in the garden these days because of the tropical storm that we had, not to mention the heat. A few peppers, the carrot patch, and a lacinato are hanging on despite it all, though. I ate this one with some hard cooked eggs after my walk. I’m not sure that it was entirely ripe, but it was super sweet! There are two more on the plant that I am hoping to have next week if all goes well. One never knows in the garden….

Guitar Case Greens, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 2, 2021

But the balcony is rocking! (pun intended) The guitar case greens are filling in nicely, my potted pepper plant is flowering, and I have a bunch of seedlings starting to come up for the fall season. I know it seems crazy to plant since I am leaving. I love to garden so much though and I don’t lose anything by doing it…whether I harvest anything or not. I just can’t find a downside and I got really, really sad when I started to think about not putting another round of seeds in the soil. Besides, I think I might actually have some success this season, so I’m going for it.

Podcast of The Day:

I’m not a huge sci fi and action fan so forgive me. After looking at his IMDB, I can confirm that I have not seen a single one of his movies even though clearly, he is a tremendously prolific producer. I love listening to episodes that introduce me to new people and I thought he was a great guest. His comment about the difference between “seeing” a movie and “experiencing” a movie made me remember the feeling of community that accompanies shared moments of storytelling. As for the three boys, I feel like I write “I laughed out loud” after every episode… because I do. 🙂

Sweating it out:

My fitness goal this week is to get in 5 miles a day of purposeful exercise and I got the week off to a good start. I decided it doesn’t matter if it’s running or walking…TMI, I have a callous on the bottom of my foot that is really jacking things up, but since I know it’s not an injury, I am powering through and trying to get it under control. This is one of those circumstances where something is better than nothing and building the practice is what really matters this week and next. Anywho…..leery of going in too hard, too fast in the beginning, I am easing back into full time running. That means leaving Codee at home. He just doesn’t have the energy back, yet. Also, it’s really important that he gets used to me coming and going throughout the day, so in a way, he really is training while I am. Good news is that he is super comfortable here at the condo, so typically, he just ends up on the bed snoozing.
I’m also going to do this super quick arm program on Monday (check), Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. There will likely be a lot that is different when the tour starts back up again, but I am willingly to bet the condo that actor trunks won’t be getting any lighter. Time to start lifting again.

On the plates:

The meal that I am going to call Brunch was my Green Drink, two Dash eggs, and the pepper from the garden. Dash eggs are simply steamed in the Dash egg cooker that I love, but I am such a fan that I like to market for them. Also, here are the before VitaMix and after VitaMix photos of the Green Drink…weirdly appealing to me after all this time.

Because I am doing time restricted eating for the first few weeks, meaning that I am going to consume calories during a specific time frame, in my case 2PM until 10PM, the meal names feel a little weird, but after Brunch is, what I was referring to as Tea. Not because it draws any relation to anything even remotely related to tea, the service or the drink, but because I didn’t love calling it Supper. I will now though because it happens around 6PM. So, for Supper, I had Roasted Chicken Thighs, Baked Sweet Potato, and Sugar Snap Peas.

Lola Farms Chicken Thighs, Baked Sweet Potato, Snap Peas

Dinner, which I eat some time between 8:30PM and 9PM, was a variation of the recent Go To meal in my kitchen…Chickapea Linguine, Roasted Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Arugula, Nutritional Yeast, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. At the end of the day, I like something sweet, so today I had an apple. I am Fuji apple fan, but every once in awhile I branch out, but that’s the variety that I keep stocked right now.

Chickpea Linguine, Roasted Cauliflower, Arugula, Mushrooms, Nutritional Yeast, Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cronometer:

Garmin Says:

Off to a fantastic start! The step goal is set at 15,000, but I am really looking to break 20,000 daily. Now, to keep it up for a month…

118 Days Until Load In…Stay safe and moving, y’all!

Accountability

noun ac·​count·​abil·​i·​ty | ə-ˌkau̇n-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē : the quality or state of being accountable especially: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions – Merriam Webster

People help influence our choices all day long. Our parents, our friends, advertisers…but at the end of that day, to whom are you accountable? Who do you answer to in the different departments of your life? If no one else’s opinion mattered, would you make different choices?

It’s easy to say, “Eh, I’ll go tomorrow.” or “No one will care if I have another x, y, or z.”. We are too quick to forget that, in fact, someone will care. I will care when I feel like rubbish, but self worth is a whole different gallon of ice cream to tackle bite by bite and I’m not quite there yet…..back to accountability. Sometimes, I just need a nudge. It’s not that I don’t know what the “right” answer is most of the time, but it’s advantageous to have someone who will hold me to account. Knowing the right answer and making the correct decision, sadly, remain entirely separate.

Street Art, Dear Evan Hansen
Cincinnati, OH, May, 2019

When it comes to health and wellness choices, obviously, most adults are left to our own devices. This is what we want as adults, right? Autonomy? Independence? No one is there making you eat your vegetables or sending you outside to play for a while? While it’s liberating to make all the rules and have ice cream for breakfast four days a week… I find that it’s often more effective to enlist help in the “better choice” department. Someone that will be proud of me when I DO make the right choice…or someone that I don’t want to disappoint…basically, I find a person who WILL care. Or, maybe more importantly, someone who’s opinion I care about.

If I’m struggling with motivation, I have been guilty of turning coworkers into unwittingly accomplices in achieving my weekly running goals. It’s cheaper than a coach and they have no choice. It goes something like this.

Me: “What are you doing over the dinner break?”

Coworker: says something irrelevant and then “what about you?”

Me: “I’m trying to motivate for a run.”

Here’s the point. This simple conversation almost guarantees that I will put on my running shoes and at least give it a go because now I have someone to answer to. I have created the chance that, later on, this coworker will ask me how I did on my run. I don’t want to have to say that I didn’t even try. It just doesn’t feel good to have to admit to that. They’ll think I’m lame…As silly as it seems, simply being accountable to the possibility of the conversation motivates me 99% of the time.

Los Angeles, CA, March, 2017

Even people that have the best habits and amazing motivation have challenging days. Having a wellness partner in crime, whether they know they’re one or not, can make all the difference.