Not every challenge in this process is truly going to require learning new tricks. I've moved a number of times in my adult life, so much of what I am about to do isn't unfamiliar to me. There are some differences between this move and others I've made, though. I'm not going solo this time around; I've got two dogs, two motorcycles, and Mr. Weezy--all things I never had to move before.
I expect the dogs to be relatively easy. We are going to the Charlotte, North Carolina area, which is not that far from So Flo, so we are driving/moving ourselves. That means we will have the dogs with us, so no logistical problems there.
We (OK--Mr. Weezy) are working on the best way to move the motorcycles. We also have two vehicles, so we will likely rent a truck that will hold our stuff and the bikes. Then, we can tow one vehicle and drive the other. Seems like this will be manageable.
That leaves Mr. Weezy, who could present the biggest logistical challenge. You know that expression, "There's an app for that?" Well, in Mr. Weezy's case, there's a tool for that. He spends way too much time at Harbor Freight buying stuff because, you know, if he ever wants to do X, he's gonna need Y. On top of that, he almost never throws anything out because, you know, as soon as he does, he's gonna need that thing. Sigh ...
Me, on the other hand, I try to keep the amount of "stuff" I have to a minimum. It is quite liberating to not be weighed down with literal baggage. I fully experienced this feeling four years ago when I was planning to move out of the country. I had to get everything I owned into two suitcases and a carry-on, so I had to part with a lot of items. My plans fell through, and I've accumulated some things since then, but I am no match for Mr. Weezy in this department.
So, what to do about this situation? Basically, nothing. I'm not going to change Mr. Weezy's thinking, and hey--I could do way worse than live with a guy who is a bit of a pack rat. No, I'm just gonna start those three piles people always suggest when you are trying to get organized or to prepare to move: sell, donate, and throw away. I don't expect to see much of a contribution to the piles from Mr. Weezy, but I'm OK with that. You never know ... I might need him to do Z after we move, and he'll be so happy he is able to do it because he bought Y and didn't throw that thing out.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Weight of the World
Probably an exaggeration, but that is how I feel about incorporating weight training into my exercise regimen. Actually, I think I'll call it strength training instead because the term "weight training" conjures up images of body builders for me, and that is not what I'm going for here.
Six years ago, I tore a calf muscle while I was running. The sports medicine doctor who treated my injury told me I should start doing some strength training to help prevent future running injuries. Guess I should get on it, huh? Not only haven't I done any regular strength training EVER, I haven't even been running regularly for the last two years. No wonder I look frumpy for god's sake!!
Just like I know eating well and getting regular cardio exercise is important for both physical and mental health, I understand how strength training fits into that equation. It will help me avoid running injuries, but it will also ensure things like my continued ability to climb stairs and haul the groceries in from the car. Oh, and pick up our dogs (about 12 and 14 pounds, respectively). That's important stuff for old people to be able to do, dontcha think? And since I'm considering physical appearance as it relates to increasing my chances of finding a job, I think good posture, firmer abs, and some muscle tone will all be beneficial.
As I mentioned in my last post, I believe in the argument that the best exercise for you is the one you will do regularly. I enjoy running, I think because I have a short attention span, and it's difficult for me to have to follow what someone else is doing for very long. There are several other reasons I like running. Maybe I'll write about those in the future. You know, after I start running again and then remember what they are. Ha!
Anyway, I don't particularly enjoy working out with weights, so I expect this part of the exercise habit to be more challenging than the cardio part. I have a DVD titled Ageless Body by Erin O'Brien, which is what I plan to use. Honestly, the DVD isn't that bad. It is 40-45 minutes long, made for women, and works all your major muscle groups and your core. Maybe when I get into the habit of doing it, it will seem even less bad. And who knows, maybe I'll find other DVDs, or YouTube videos, or just written plans that I'll decide to experiment with. However it works out, what I need is 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training per week. Since I am teaching two nights a week after my regular job, I am left with just the 5 days I need.
Of course, having a plan is one thing; implementing it is quite another; and following it through to the end is yet another. For this whole big life change to work, though, I need to get my butt in gear. And I mean that in the most literal sense.
Six years ago, I tore a calf muscle while I was running. The sports medicine doctor who treated my injury told me I should start doing some strength training to help prevent future running injuries. Guess I should get on it, huh? Not only haven't I done any regular strength training EVER, I haven't even been running regularly for the last two years. No wonder I look frumpy for god's sake!!
Just like I know eating well and getting regular cardio exercise is important for both physical and mental health, I understand how strength training fits into that equation. It will help me avoid running injuries, but it will also ensure things like my continued ability to climb stairs and haul the groceries in from the car. Oh, and pick up our dogs (about 12 and 14 pounds, respectively). That's important stuff for old people to be able to do, dontcha think? And since I'm considering physical appearance as it relates to increasing my chances of finding a job, I think good posture, firmer abs, and some muscle tone will all be beneficial.
As I mentioned in my last post, I believe in the argument that the best exercise for you is the one you will do regularly. I enjoy running, I think because I have a short attention span, and it's difficult for me to have to follow what someone else is doing for very long. There are several other reasons I like running. Maybe I'll write about those in the future. You know, after I start running again and then remember what they are. Ha!
Anyway, I don't particularly enjoy working out with weights, so I expect this part of the exercise habit to be more challenging than the cardio part. I have a DVD titled Ageless Body by Erin O'Brien, which is what I plan to use. Honestly, the DVD isn't that bad. It is 40-45 minutes long, made for women, and works all your major muscle groups and your core. Maybe when I get into the habit of doing it, it will seem even less bad. And who knows, maybe I'll find other DVDs, or YouTube videos, or just written plans that I'll decide to experiment with. However it works out, what I need is 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training per week. Since I am teaching two nights a week after my regular job, I am left with just the 5 days I need.
Of course, having a plan is one thing; implementing it is quite another; and following it through to the end is yet another. For this whole big life change to work, though, I need to get my butt in gear. And I mean that in the most literal sense.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Does the Thin Girl Really Get the Job?
So, here I am: the middle-aged woman who is going to have to find a new job soon. I've got an updated haircut, and I am working diligently to sharpen my technology skills. Now, according to an article I read in an AARP publication, I need to get fit. Ugh.
I saved this part of the project for last, both in this discussion and in real time, because I expect it to be the most challenging. Best case scenario, I need to lose 30 pounds, but I think 20 would be great. If we move at the end of August, I have just about enough time to lose 20. But I have to get on it now, and stick to a plan! Piece of cake, right? Mmmmmm ... a piece of cake ... that sounds good! Oh, wait--NO cake! See what I mean by "most challenging?"
I understand the logic behind fitness increasing one's chances of getting a job. Or maybe what I truly understand is how lack of fitness could decrease one's chances of getting a job. A fit person looks younger and more energetic than an unfit person, and if you were doing the hiring, wouldn't you want the younger-looking and seemingly more energetic applicant? I sure would. And I have to say for me personally, I just look frumpy. I don't think I look old (though I don't consider 54 old anyway), but I have that middle-age spread, and those chicken arms, and those shoulders that are starting to look rounded. Like I said, frumpy. And clothes can only hide so much, whether it is excess weight or frumpiness.
I have a healthy skepticism when it comes to the latest diet and exercise fads. I still hold the basic belief that it's all about calories in and calories out. Simple. I don't believe in eliminating any particular food in an effort to lose weight. I do, however, agree with the idea that most of us underestimate the amount of food we eat and overestimate the number of calories we burn. I know this from my experience and from the experience of the women I work with who have been trying to lose weight for a year easily. They talk incessantly about what they eat and how much they exercise, yet they never lose weight. Losing weight isn't complicated; it's just difficult.
There are a couple of apps I have on my iPhone that I am going to utilize in my quest to be fitter, both of which I have used in the past. The first is My Fitness Pal (MFP). This can also be accessed online at myfitnesspal.com. It is a place where you can log what you eat and what exercise you do every day. Of course, you start out entering stats like how much you weigh now and what your goal weight is, so the program can tell you how many calories to eat every day to reach your goal. It has other features like blogs, forums, and "friending," none of which I use, but certainly features that others might find useful or enjoyable. The thing I probably like best about MFP is that when you finish logging in every day, you get a message saying, "If every day were like today, you would weigh X number of pounds in 5 weeks." It is motivating to see how much less you could weigh in 5 weeks if you stick to your plan. By the same token, it is downright disturbing to see how much more you could weigh in 5 weeks if you don't get back on track!
Another app I like is call Fooducate. This app can be used to log food and exercise like MFP, but I don't use it for that, mainly because I was already using MFP before I discovered Fooducate. I use Fooducate to get nutritional information about food products. You can search for food items (or scan their bar codes, a feature that is also available on the MFP app) and get a "grade" for that food. This app is especially good for learning things like how much added sugar a product has, or whether or not it has controversial preservatives or artificial colors. You can also ask the app for possible substitutions for a food, so it might help you find a healthier alternative to what you were thinking of eating.
Cutting calories alone isn't likely to be enough to get me to my goal weight, so I need to do some exercise also. I have seen it said many times that the best exercise is the one you will do regularly, and I prescribe to that notion. For me, that exercise is running. I have been a runner a number of times in my life, and now it's time to be one again. I have a program I got from Runner's World magazine that, if followed, will have me running 30 continuous minutes in 10 weeks. I know it works because I've used it several times. So, 10 weeks from now, I should be able to run for 30 straight minutes. Stay tuned ...
In some ways, my quest to lose weight is not really a new trick I'm learning, but rather one I'm re-learning. Regardless, I know I need to do it as part of my job-search preparation. I also need to do it for my health and overall fitness, but that idea better fits in the blog I almost wrote ...
I saved this part of the project for last, both in this discussion and in real time, because I expect it to be the most challenging. Best case scenario, I need to lose 30 pounds, but I think 20 would be great. If we move at the end of August, I have just about enough time to lose 20. But I have to get on it now, and stick to a plan! Piece of cake, right? Mmmmmm ... a piece of cake ... that sounds good! Oh, wait--NO cake! See what I mean by "most challenging?"
I understand the logic behind fitness increasing one's chances of getting a job. Or maybe what I truly understand is how lack of fitness could decrease one's chances of getting a job. A fit person looks younger and more energetic than an unfit person, and if you were doing the hiring, wouldn't you want the younger-looking and seemingly more energetic applicant? I sure would. And I have to say for me personally, I just look frumpy. I don't think I look old (though I don't consider 54 old anyway), but I have that middle-age spread, and those chicken arms, and those shoulders that are starting to look rounded. Like I said, frumpy. And clothes can only hide so much, whether it is excess weight or frumpiness.
I have a healthy skepticism when it comes to the latest diet and exercise fads. I still hold the basic belief that it's all about calories in and calories out. Simple. I don't believe in eliminating any particular food in an effort to lose weight. I do, however, agree with the idea that most of us underestimate the amount of food we eat and overestimate the number of calories we burn. I know this from my experience and from the experience of the women I work with who have been trying to lose weight for a year easily. They talk incessantly about what they eat and how much they exercise, yet they never lose weight. Losing weight isn't complicated; it's just difficult.
There are a couple of apps I have on my iPhone that I am going to utilize in my quest to be fitter, both of which I have used in the past. The first is My Fitness Pal (MFP). This can also be accessed online at myfitnesspal.com. It is a place where you can log what you eat and what exercise you do every day. Of course, you start out entering stats like how much you weigh now and what your goal weight is, so the program can tell you how many calories to eat every day to reach your goal. It has other features like blogs, forums, and "friending," none of which I use, but certainly features that others might find useful or enjoyable. The thing I probably like best about MFP is that when you finish logging in every day, you get a message saying, "If every day were like today, you would weigh X number of pounds in 5 weeks." It is motivating to see how much less you could weigh in 5 weeks if you stick to your plan. By the same token, it is downright disturbing to see how much more you could weigh in 5 weeks if you don't get back on track!
Another app I like is call Fooducate. This app can be used to log food and exercise like MFP, but I don't use it for that, mainly because I was already using MFP before I discovered Fooducate. I use Fooducate to get nutritional information about food products. You can search for food items (or scan their bar codes, a feature that is also available on the MFP app) and get a "grade" for that food. This app is especially good for learning things like how much added sugar a product has, or whether or not it has controversial preservatives or artificial colors. You can also ask the app for possible substitutions for a food, so it might help you find a healthier alternative to what you were thinking of eating.
Cutting calories alone isn't likely to be enough to get me to my goal weight, so I need to do some exercise also. I have seen it said many times that the best exercise is the one you will do regularly, and I prescribe to that notion. For me, that exercise is running. I have been a runner a number of times in my life, and now it's time to be one again. I have a program I got from Runner's World magazine that, if followed, will have me running 30 continuous minutes in 10 weeks. I know it works because I've used it several times. So, 10 weeks from now, I should be able to run for 30 straight minutes. Stay tuned ...
In some ways, my quest to lose weight is not really a new trick I'm learning, but rather one I'm re-learning. Regardless, I know I need to do it as part of my job-search preparation. I also need to do it for my health and overall fitness, but that idea better fits in the blog I almost wrote ...
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