Hi! Welcome to Wellness Wednesday, where I’m going to endeavor to, on the same day each week, update you on where I am with my physical and mental wellness, covering food, rest, exercise, and self care practices and how they are (or aren’t) serving me and my goals. I’m going to also keep it pretty succinct, at least for me, because I know I can ramble, and really don’t want y’all to lose interest. 😛

Food: I’m working on making sure to prep as much as I can on the weekend for the week ahead, and especially make sure to plan out all my meals for the week so I’m not wasting time in the moment trying to figure out what to eat. I’m following a gentle carb cycle, where I’m keeping my food focused on protein, veggies, and good fats for 4-5 days a week, with a “higher carb” day sprinkled in, or a serving of a good carb (sweet potato, baked golden potato, beans, quinoa) when/if I feel like I need it. I’m keeping it at least 80/20 Whole Foods, probably closer to 90/10 if you do the math out, but the point is, food is in a good place.

Rest: I am working on prioritizing sleep and getting serious about making sacrifices to get enough. I’ve begun using the Sleep Coach feature on my Whoop App, and, while it;s already getting easier to get up at 6:30, I’m still working on being able to fall asleep early when i need to. I am also using the Recovery Score along with how my body feels to help me to decide how much exercise my body is really up for each day, instead of just powering through and threatening both my energy level for the remainder of the day, but my mental health, by making myself more tired. Here are some screenshots for example:

Monday, i worked out really hard (It was so awesome). And my Strain was 14.8 by the end of the day, and the Sleep Coach told me to go to bed at 9:35. I did, but didn’t fall asleep for a long time, and my recovery was at 35% when I woke up yesterday. I did my strength/HIIT workout, but decided to call it a day, considering my low recovery and the fact that my anxiety was trying to get its hooks in, which mostly happens when I’m exhausted.

Side note: i was/am exhausted because of a few factors-

1.my period came in the middle of last week, and i kept working out for the first couple days, at a just slightly less intense level, before taking a rest day Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, though, I worked really hard mentally and physically to get some planning and housework done, even though my body was screaming at me.

2. Sunday night, even though i was totally spent and overwhelmed with all i was trying to accomplish, and in the middle of my period, we went out to celebrate something exciting wit ha good friend. No regrets at all, but it;s a factor.

3. 14.8 strain on Monday is by far my highest ever, on top of all the rest of that, and I am still trying to recover.

Due to all that, I’m still on the back foot with recovery (50% today), and am considering a nap today, which is no longer something I do every day- Praise The LORD!

Exercise: I think i fiiiiinally have this dialed in in a way that makes me feel strong, happy, and accomplished. I won’t break it down in great detail here right now, but basically I have streamlined my strength training so it is both more effective and takes less time, therefore setting me up to hopefully get my cycling done right after once i start getting up by 6 (hopefully by month end), and therefore, since i do yoga around 8:30 AM, I can get all my exercise done before 9:30 AM on weekdays. *praise hands* I’m easing back into Power Zone training and have leveled up to Intermediate yoga with Denis. the yoga is significantly harder, and humbling at times, but i enjoy it so much more, my goal right now for strain on my Whoop is to hit 10 or higher on days I train (M/Tu/Th/F/Sa) and stay below 10 on recovery days. I may increase that goal over time, we shall see.

Self care: I am working on being more consistent with my daily beauty rituals, and soon, I’ll make it a priority to actually style my hair and makeup each day. I’m also going to, this week, start taking a 20 minute Epsom Salt Bath at least 2-3x a week. I’m going to brainstorm some other little rituals that might bring me closer to where I want to be, and hopefully have lots to share next week. What I have realized is that simplicity and sustainability are key.

Finally this week, I want to share with you some thoughts I have been sorting through as regards my body image. I haven’t been happy, or even content, in a really long time, oooobviously. But last weekend I did something that needed to be done, in order to take stock and get a really check (because I thought it was possible i was experiencing some dysmorphia). I tried on the last jeans that fit. I was not having a dysmorphic view. Somehow i have gotten bigger, at least on the bottom half. My jeans, which I actually wore a few times last winter, did not button. Soooooo. I have almost certainly gained some lower body muscle, however, this is not the direction I want to be headed in overall. If those pants didn’t fit because I had rock solid thighs and booty, that would be one thing, but my belly is still a thing, and I am going to pursue changing that while celebrating how much stronger and healthier and more energetic this body is getting. I’m gonna have hard days, I’m gonna be tempted to feel gross or whatever, but i have to focus on celebration and getting better. The changes I am making in response to this are not to restrict food, give up Taco Tuesday, and work out twice as much. I’ve chosen to change the intensity of my strength workouts, but also make them shorter. I’ve decided to step it up a bit on the bike, because going lighter hasn’t been the move. I’m still not going to ride 3x a day for 45 minutes, but once I get my recovery fixed, I might ride twice once in awhile to meet up with my Menaces for a live ride. I’m paying a little more intention to my carb cycle, but also to replenishing after a tough workout and listening to and feeding my natural hunger cues. The point is, I am not responding to this setback with punishment, but with renewed intention and focus. I am already enjoying the changes in my workouts and am celebrating being able to do more than I expected.

I m going to LIVE my LIFE with joy and freedom and to the full, and pursue the things that help me do that. Thanks for joining me!