It’s the end of April!

I was heading to work today when the radio announcers started talking about midnight, tonight, being the deadline for getting my taxes in. “What?!” I say to myself in disbelief, “it’s the end of the month already?!”

Yup it is. I have to write my month-end check-in update! Craaazzzyyy. April has totally escaped me, it seems!

How you doing, Grace?

Great, really. I feel great. So, so, so much better than I felt at the end of March. So much better.

Really, Why? How so?

Well, first, March was just a tumultuous month with lots of personal stuff happening. As much as I tried to stay on track, really, I was out of my groove and it was difficult to maintain any sort of focus with all that was going on. April is much calmer. It seems unfair to even compare the two months at all. April was better. Much better.

Fair enough. Tumult aside, is there anything new or different?

Yup. Lots. So, April 13th was the last of my weekly visits with my dietician and she has now shifted to my ‘fitness and food guru’ and we will be meeting only once a month. It does seem a little odd that I’m making this month-end report without a recent visit to her… our next visit is in two weeks from now.

Okay, so how do you feel about the shift from weekly to monthly visits?

Surprisingly good. At first, I thought that if I didn’t see her on a weekly basis that I’d end up ‘slipping’—not paying a lot of attention to what I was eating, or perhaps getting less exercise in. That is not the case. As I had posted before, I have weekly email check-ins with her, and I have set a running goal for myself, which really does help me stay focused. I’m amazingly more motivated now that I have set this running goal, really.

Talk about your fitness, how is that going?

I am getting a lot more exercise. A lot. My newest schedule:

Mondays

6:00 a.m. visit to the gym for a 35-minute stationary cycling session

3:30 p.m. visit to the Stratford Oval for a 50-minute 3&3

6:30 p.m. out to Cornwall for a 60-minute karate lesson

Tuesdays

4:15 p.m. attend a 60-minute fitness class

Wednesdays

6:00 a.m. visit to the gym for a 35-minute stationary cycling session

3:30 p.m. visit to the Stratford Oval for a 50-minute 3&3

Thursdays

4:15 p.m. attend a 60-minute fitness class

Fridays

6:00 a.m. visit to the gym for a 35-minute stationary cycling session

Saturdays  

10:00 a.m. out to Cornwall for a 120-minute karate lesson

Sundays

9:30 a.m. attend a 60-minute fitness class OR a 4-6km hike outside

I should say... I don’t actually think that I will do every single bit of exercise on my list every single week. Realistically, things happen and there may be a day when I can’t get my fitness in. I’m not going to worry too much about it though, I will try my best.

 

Whaaat?! Did I read karate? KARATE?!

Yeah, you did. I have been attending Ivan’s karate classes for a few months now and have always thought that it was a really interesting discipline. Sensei had been asking me over the last couple of weeks to join, I talked it over with Ivan and both of us agreed that it would be a cool thing for me to do. This just started today. Today was my first class… it was not easy, and my feet are sore (I remember Ivan saying the same thing when he first started the class too). I feel I will be a white belt for a while, but I’m okay with that!

And how’s the eating?

It is good! I have been sticking relatively close to my goals and expectations in that area too. I have been drinking a few beers though… it’s spring! What can I say? I have been drinking either ‘Canadian 67’ or ‘Coors Light’, both are slightly better options than some of the other beers out there. But, if I have a beer (or two) I make sure I pay attention to what else I have or will be eating on that day. It’s a trade-off I am willing to make.

Okay then… any final thoughts?
Don’t I always have some?

I love life. Life is great!! Spring is here, I see many changes happening in the future… all of them positive! I just want to share it with everyone... honestly, I have said it before and I will say it again: if I can do it, you can too. Anyone out there who is on the fence about starting your own journey, get off of that fence and just do it. Sure, it will be a bit of a struggle at first, but only good things will happen if you stick to it, I promise!

And so the journey continues…

(and I DID get my taxes filed in time too!)