Tag: allergies

The Wandering Hermit: How’s Everybody Doin’ Today? Wanna Hear About My Lungs?

One of my favorite concepts is having the confidence to walk into a room like you own everything.  Of course, I never quite do have that level of confidence, but I think I’ve figured out a way to fake it, and faking it is nearly as good it most cases.  Recently, whenever I’ve been around other people I like to walk in like I’m the district manager; I’m not doing a walk through this week, but I am just seeing how everyone is doing.  What is surprising is how well even that level of confidence works.

I need to keep working on breathing.  I am MILES from where I started, but I do wish I could breath even more deeply.  I want to just fill those lungs up fully and enjoy the full capacity of respiration that I have lacked for so long.  Maybe it’ll take time.  Maybe it will never happen, but I’m trying.  I don’t know what would help other than what I’m already doing.  I’m willing to try anything.

[Walk #109]

The Wandering Hermit: Assessing Myself on a Thursday Morning

I feel inspired this morning.  I didn’t get enough sleep, but I still woke up feeling great and ready to do all the things!  I’ve been focused heavily on poetry this month and it has me feeling very hyped for new projects, and I even got some writing in the other day.  I can always write.  But I have been busy with other things and so my writing has been pushed to the back until I’ve settled somewhere.  That is a trap I’ve fallen for before.  There is no settling.  Life is always chaotic in one way or another, but it is a choice to deny myself expression.  So, I resumed the writing I should never have paused.

My pace for the entire 3.39 mile walk this morning was under 20 minutes per mile!  That was incredible.  Once again, I did at times feel like I was power walking like a suburban mom on a Wednesday morning, but most of the walk felt fine.  And breathing never became an issue, but a brief exception when a car drove by and I was dealing with some dust for a few minutes.  Otherwise, my lungs seem the best they ever have.  My VO2 Max number has sort of plateaued, but I just need to keep doing what I am doing; hopefully it moves along soon.

I’m starting to get used to the slower rate of my recent weight loss.  I had been discouraged that it was slowing down, but when I started I knew that would happen.  It’s actually a good sign to not be dropping 3 to 5 pounds per week.  Weight loss at that rate was a sign that I was far too overweight.  I seem to be at 1 to 2 pounds per week, with an occasional outlier of 4 or 5.  If there’s something I could switch up to increase that, I’m just not all that interested in exploring it.  I like how I’m eating, I like my exercise routine, I’m drinking a lot of water, and most nights I’m sleeping well.  I don’t really mind this pace because everything is feeling so great.

[Walk #95]

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

Daily Log: 16 April 2024

Weight: 290.0 lbs

Exercise: 1.32 mile walk (7:52am–8:23am, 🌬️67ºF/19.5ºC)

Mood: Good

Food: 985 calories

  • coffee, oat milk, Syruvia Pumpkin Pie Syrup
  • carrot & tomato soup
  • Happy Belly SF Pink Lemonade
  • steamed Brussels sprouts, extra firm silken tofu, Daiya cheese sauce, steamed green beans, lemon pepper
  • steamed green beans, steamed broccoli

Feeling a little better after the big day of eating, but the pollen is still high. Continue reading “Daily Log: 16 April 2024”

Daily Log: 25 September 2023

FOOD:

  • romaine salad mix, kidney beans, green beans, steamed cauliflower, Head Country Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce, Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing
  • GV SF Lemonade
  • Starbucks Medium Roast Cold Brew Coffee, Elmhurst Maple Walnut Barista Edition Milk, salted caramel syrup
  • Reign Inferno Jalapeño Strawberry Energy Drink
  • 2 grilled ears of corn, roasted Anaheim pepper, steamed broccoli, stewed tomatoes, kidney beans, romaine salad mix, Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing, brown mustard

NOTES: I slept really well, but I woke up feeling terrible.  The pollen from weeds is high right now and I think I’m just dealing with that.  I even overdid the caffeine in an attempt to compensate, but it didn’t do as much as I had hoped. Continue reading “Daily Log: 25 September 2023”