Author: Brian

The Wandering Hermit: Itty Bitty & Shrinky Dinky

This morning was all about itty bitty tiny little goals.  For whatever reason, I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night and woke up a little late… honestly, it could have been even later.  I wouldn’t have minded so much getting sleep and having to walk later in the day.  I wasn’t very motivated as a result.  But I just kept setting goals as I went.  I was expecting to only get in about half a mile, but I just kept telling myself to just get to the next tree, to the next driveway, to the top of the hill…. that works pretty well for me when I just don’t want to walk.  And I ended up getting in my 2 miles that I like doing first thing.  I still might do a little more later when I go out to the cemetery.  It might be nice to do a walk around it while I’m there.  I almost feel like I’m only going out to get out of the house.

As of yesterday, my legs seem to be deflating the way I had hoped.  The infection probably helped actually; as long as I keep my legs elevated as often as I can, I think they should continue getting smaller.  They’ve been so big for so long, I almost don’t know what to do if they shrink to a normal size.  I don’t even trust that they will do that at this point.  We’ll see.  I was pretty obsessed with the smoothness of the back of my left leg.  It had been such a weird bumpy texture, so having it smooth out yesterday was almost emotional for me.

My broccoli break continues, but everything seems a little up in the air with my food.  I feel like I need to reevaluate and figure out some things.  It’s not that I’m bored with things; it’s more like I’m so disinterested in food lately that I don’t care what I’m eating, and that is making it hard to want anything in particular.  I am actually happy with that feeling in general, but it does leave me not eating for a long time and then getting so ravenous that I make unwise decisions.  It would be better if I was making sure to eat enough throughout the day.

[Walk #71]

Daily Log: 27 May 2024

 

Weight: 272.8 lb/123.74 kg

Exercise: 2.06 mile/3.32 km walk (6:46am–7:33am, ☀️61ºF/16ºC); .13 mile/.21 km walk (12:38pm–12:43pm, ☀️84ºF/29ºC) (2.19 miles/3.52 km total)

Mindfulness: 15 minute outdoor meditation (10:58am–11:09am; 12:53pm–12:57pm)

Mood: Great

Food: 3320 calories

  • Chocolate Salted Pretzel iced coffee
  • steamed cauliflower, lettuce, roma tomato, jalapeños, mustard, no salt seasoning
  • Ghost Energy, Cherry Limeade
  • potato chips, hummus, Miyoko’s vegan mozzarella 
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade

The Wandering Hermit: Getting Over Something

My morning walk was nice.  I was once again a little late waking up, but earlier than yesterday.  After the evening I had yesterday, I’m pretty sure I had some sort of infection that I’ve been fighting off.  That would also explain the weird rosiness I had in my knees a couple of days ago.  Anytime I get an infection of any sort, I have redness in my legs.  It’s just another part of my annoying leg problem.

[Walk #70]

Daily Log: 26 May 2024

Weight: 275.0 lb/124.74 kg

Exercise: 2.07 mile/3.33 km walk (6:20am–7:09am, ☀️74ºF/23.5ºC)

Mindfulness: 11 minute outdoor meditation (7:10am–7:21am)

Mood: Great

Food: 690 calories

  • horchata iced coffee
  • steamed green beans, lettuce, jalapeños, mustard
  • Tofurky Deli Slices, Hickory Smoked
  • steamed green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, jalapeño stuffed olives, mustard
  • steamed cauliflower, lettuce, jalapeños
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade

The Wandering Hermit: The Mysteries of Katie Lane

Today started much better than yesterday, but a little late as far as I’m concerned.  I was a full hour late on my walking routine, but my head feels much clearer today.  I walked down Burris/VFW Rd, intending to go down to Prairie Rd again, but when I got to Katie Ln, about halfway between Fairgrounds Rd & Prairie Rd, I decided to include it on my walk.  I had never been down that road and assumed it was a short road with maybe three homes, but not only was it about a quarter mile down, but then the road continued down into the trees winding around, crossing the creek and ending at one final house way down in a secluded spot.  In a way, it’s a perfect spot for a home.  I like that they chose to go across the creek, so they’ve insulated themselves on all sides.  Of course, it’s also one of those places where the kids of the people who built it shoot first and ask questions later, but it was early and I didn’t actually go all the way up to the property.  

Since my walk was slightly later, I saw several people outside—two running and one man working in his yard.  I rarely see anyone out on my walks.  I also encountered the three dogs on the corner.  The little pug was the friendliest of the guys, but they were all pretty gregarious.  They tend to act tough when they see me from a distance, but when our paths crossed they were a little pack of sweethearts.  I worry about them being on the road.  Too many dogs have gotten hit by cars out here.  Now that I’ve interacted with them, I’ll probably make a point to walk by to see them in the morning.  

My legs are shrinking, but not very fast.  It’s starting to bother me because I’ve not seen as dramatic a change in my legs as I have elsewhere…. don’t get me wrong, they are definitely smaller than they used to be, but they remain firm when other areas have softened and I’m eager for them to start reducing.  I just don’t know how or even if it is possible.  Maybe this is permanent.  I’m actually okay with that, but I’d like to at least know.

[Walk #69]

Daily Log: 25 May 2024

Weight: ?

Exercise: 2.75 mile/4.43 km walk (6:57am–7:59am, ☀️58ºF/14.5ºC)

Mindfulness: 5 minute outdoor meditation (7:59am–8:04am); 11 minute outdoor meditation (1:37pm–1:48pm)

Mood: Excellent

Food: 690 calories

  • Chocolate Salted Pretzel iced coffee
  • steamed green beans, lettuce, jalapeños, Tofurky Hickory Smoked Deli Slices
  • steamed green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños
  • steamed cauliflower
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade

The Wandering Hermit: I’m Just Irritable Today

I slept in this morning, and it was just as well because my watch was not charged enough for a walk and that would have annoyed me if I had discovered that on my way out the door.  My biggest complaint about my Apple Watch is how quickly the battery dies.  And I suspect they could have done something about that; Justin’s smart watch, a random one from Amazon, needs charged once a week at most.  I don’t know how to improve the battery life, but I hate having some of the features on the watch that I find distracting, like messaging and email.  I don’t want that info; I want a tool to help me focus on exercise.  Those junk apps feel like an excuse to get advertising to me when I am able to get away from my phone.

My mood went from not great to terrible.  I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  Brent said sometimes he wakes up and wonders what he was dreaming about that pissed him off, and that’s pretty accurate to how I felt.  I was annoyed most of the day.

[Walk #67]

Daily Log: 24 May 2024

Weight: ?

Exercise: .67 mile/1.08 km walk (2:07pm–2:24pm, ☀️80ºF/26.5ºC); 1.07 mile/1.72 km walk (5:14pm–5:29pm; 5:57pm–6:08pm, ☀️82ºF/27.5ºC) (1.74 miles/2.80 km total)

Mindfulness: 5 minute outdoor meditation (2:25pm–2:30pm)

Mood: Fine to Not Fine

Food: 2041 calories

  • Chocolate Salted Pretzel iced coffee
  • Fillo’s Walking Tamale, Mexican Chocolate Almond
  • steamed green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños
  • Monster Energy Ultra Fantasy Ruby Red
  • steamed green beans, steamed Brussels sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, chili beans
  • salad: lettuce, jalapeños, mustard
  • Shredded Potato Bake: shredded potatoes, diced potatoes, mashed potatoes, chili beans, seasoning blend vegetables, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, jalapeños, Serrano peppers
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade

The Wandering Hermit: How Can I Complicate This?

I did a short walk this morning; it’s supposed to rain, so I decided to just walk before then.  Of course, now it just won’t probably.  But that’s okay.  My goal is a minimum of 25 minutes each day.  I got in that amount, which means I succeeded today.  I don’t have to overdo it everyday.  I’m also not in competition with past me.

I’ve been thinking about YouTube videos.  I just want to be doing something while I’m doing something… if that makes sense.  I think I’d like to start recording my walks.  Depending on the walk, that might be interesting as a YouTube channel.  I know I like to look up videos of towns in different places.  Usually you’ll just find a short video of drone footage, which rarely gives me much.  Maybe someone would want to see some of the places around here by foot.  I also find those kinds of videos relaxing.  The question becomes do I set them to music or do I talk over them about whatever I want to talk about?  It’s hard to say.

Supposedly most pollen levels are pretty low today.  That concerns me because I have a little congestion going on.  Grass is high I guess; maybe it’s literally just grass pollen stopping me up. 

[Walk #64]

Daily Log: 23 May 2024

Weight: 278.4 lbs

Exercise: 1.14 mile walk (5:41am–6:07am, ☁️62ºF/16.5ºC); 1.37 mile walk (1:30pm–2:04pm, ☁️80ºF/26.5ºC); 1.15 mile walk (6:20pm–6:49pm, 🌬️80ºF/26.5ºC) (3.66 miles total)

Mindfulness: 15 minute outdoor meditation (2:22pm–2:27pm; 6:49pm–7:01pm)

Mood: Great

Food: 2180 calories

  • French vanilla iced coffee
  • horchata oatmeal
  • bean & rice burritos
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade