My Experience with "Diet Right for Your Personality Type"

The Book

I started a 4 week diet plan in mid October, so I would end just before the holidays. The book that got me started was one I saw on display at the library and checked out: "Diet Right for Your Personality Type" by Jen Widerstrom.

She breaks everyone down into 5 types.

• The Organized Doer
• The Swinger
• The Rebel
• The Everyday Hero
• The Never-Ever

I'm not going into the differences, but here's a great article that does so: Jen Widerstrom Explains Why Weight Loss Tips Aren't Working For You

I'd tried changing my diet before, but always struggled. What I liked about Jen's plan is that she tailors it to your individual personality type to increase chance of success. I took the quiz, and my results fell where I expected: The Never-Ever. My own worst enemy, gives up easily, fear based thinking. This resonated so much with me that I was more inclined to give her diet a shot. Another thing I liked is that her plan isn't about carbs bad, fish good, or anything. More veggies, yes; less boxed and processed goods. Better plate ratios and portions. Listen to your body, how it reacts to different foods, and drink more water. Also about changing your diet long-term, setting you up for continued success after the structured 4 weeks are over.

My Experience

The initial cost was really high, buying packages of things like quinoa, bone broth, teas, bulk items that I didn't have on hand. My first week the fridge was overflowing with produce. I was surprised how well much of it held up though, and I did buy less on the later weeks. I also had to get a blender, larger teacups, soup mugs to-go, and a thermos for the sipping broth. But I considered it an investment in my health. I made a Pinterest board for the items I ended up getting.

Now, ideally any diet would include an exercise plan. Jen does include workouts, but I focused on the diet rather than the exercise. I did some exercise, but most of my physical activity was just from work. I do have an active job as a library shelver, and I walk and bus. So it's not like I was stuck at a desk all month. I do know I could have lost more weight if I was more active on my days off.

I lost 7 pounds, half of that in the first week. More importantly, I felt a difference physically and mentally. I was less sluggish, took less naps, was able to focus on tasks, even was more creative, feeling more inclined and able to work on my writing projects.

What didn't work for me

I had to adjust some of the recipes, as most of the portions were too big for me. Some I reduced by about a third, others I completely cut in half. I also had to make some substitutions for things out of season or that I couldn't find in my area, or were too expensive (I'm looking at you halibut).

I learned I am allergic to chamomile tea (cousin to ragweed). I really don't like fish, no matter how it is cooked. And brand makes a difference. I have gotten used to Fage greek yogurt, but one bite of an Oikos and I gagged.

What did work

I liked having everything planned, and going to plan my own lunches better so I don't throw something unhealthy together. If have a plan, and stick to it, I'm less likely to eat out or binge on unhealthy snacks.

I ramped up my water drinking. Seemed like a lot starting out, but got used to it as weeks went on. Now sweets are less appealing (still good, just can't eat as much), and fast food / oily food doesn't taste as good. Still working on cutting back soda, but trying to drink more lower calorie options like Mtn Dew Ice or Kickstart.

My family was supportive. I couldn't have done it without them. They tried some of the meals with me, and made separate meals the other nights (so many dishes). They were willing to taste most everything. We all cut back on sweets.

Moving Forward

We may not have liked all of the recipes, but did keep some to add to our new rotation. Eating healthy can taste good and wasn't as expensive as we feared. We are making changes moving forward, cutting out boxed meals, and moving to more healthy options. And coming up with a rotating meal plan to make planning and shopping easier.

My new goal is to continue eating healthier, and start exercising more consistently on my days off.

Staying with the healthy theme, for my birthday last month my husband bought me a Fitbit. I like being able to track how much walking I actually do, and the reminders to get moving. Default goal is 10,000 steps but that felt too high to start with, so I'm aiming for 5,000.

What choices will you make today to be healthier?

Sick Days

After my kid was sick all weekend, and stayed home Monday, I wasn’t surprised when Tuesday I was the one sick. I actually got it worse than he did. Feeling a bit better today, so hopefully I’ll be good by weekend. And ready to write again next week.

I’ve heard of people who use sick days to do writing, and are quite productive. I am not one of them. The creative side of my brain does not work when I’m sick. Not for writing, or even for the interior decorating I’m doing in my Sims dream home. I envy those that can write poetically even when totally out of his mind.

I’m all fuzzed when sick. How about you?

Aspects of Wellness

This year I didn’t want to set concrete goals and deadlines. There is a big branch in life up ahead, and so much will depend on which path I take. With that in mind, I wanted to focus instead on aspects of wellness. Ways I can improve my life without relying on what else is going on around me.

The site I took this idea from has seven aspects of wellness: Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Environmental, Social, Occupational, and Spiritual. I have eight. Creativity is such a major part of my identity that I want to focus on it separate from Occupational or Intellectual.

When I first discovered these last year, I took time and visualized, then wrote down, an overall statement for ideal wellness for each aspect. With this new year, I wanted to set my goals/resolutions around those. I’ve gone into more detail in my journaling, but here are my basic goals for each:

Emotional

• Positive journaling
• Monthly date nights
• Daily music time – piano, Rock Band, dance

Intellectual

• Read one non-fiction book each month.

Physical

• Drink more water and less soda.

Environmental

• Go for a walk once a week, to get sunlight and fresh air.

Social

• Join a local writing group.
• Las Vegas trip with sisters

Occupational

• Look into continuing education, such as Library Science or Editing.

Spiritual

• Take time each week to relax, be quiet and alone. Retune with spirit, soul, nature.
• Know myself so I may know my future.

Creative

• Write one hour every day – doesn’t have to be in one session
• Finish at least one novel before starting anything new.
• Main focus: finish The Minotaur Staff (NaNoWriMo 2010)

Tuesday Tally and the Hauliday

Last week:

• continue Page-a-Day Challenge - faltered
• finish crit
• submit some poetry
• start summer routine

 

This week:

• get back on track with Page-a-Day Challenge

 

Wednesday after Kindergarten graduation I came home to find the neighborhood garbage bins out. My husband had planned to take the day off when they came, but we never got the notice. So as soon as he got home from work, we got busy hauling junk and wood beams.

A few hours in, I noticed B was no longer playing, just sitting by the wall. I discovered he wasn’t just tired, he had a fever. (Thankfully waited to get sick until school was out for the year.) He was sick for a couple days. :-(

Thursday I got some writing in, but found all that hauling had made typing (and much else) painful. My wrists, hands, forearms. Everything hurt. Didn’t get much chance to recover, as Saturday we installed a garbage disposal, Sunday I hauled and stacked brick in the back yard so my husband could mow, and Monday we installed a built in dishwasher (replacing an old, cranky portable one). Needless to say, I didn’t write and I am exhausted!

So, how was your weekend?

Owning my Health

I think Wendy hit it on the head in last week’s comment, when she tied lack of focus into lack of sleep. April was an awful writing month. I think two things contributed to this. Health and stress. Allergies, then my son’s sickness, and getting sick myself (just recovering for those concerned). Plus the self-inflicted stress of falling further behind on my writing goals.

I’ve spent way too much focus on how much do I need to write to finish, rather than enjoying the process. Where did the passion go? I’m going to release the deadline. Be free. Breathe easy.

Weronika is inviting writers to join her in a page-a-day challenge from May 15th to June 15th. I think the timing is perfect. One page. No stressing that I’m falling behind on looming deadlines (even if self-imposed).

If I stress less, I’ll probably be healthier. But I’m not relying on that alone. I need to own my health. I’ve come up with five ways I can do that:

1. drink more water – keep a water bottle at my desk. if it’s close, I’m more likely to drink it
2. exercise – walking has been great for lower body, but my core and upper body are weaklings
3. eat a more balanced lunch – I don’t send my husband to work with just a PBJ, so why fall back on that myself? If I don’t eat enough at lunch, I end up snacking on unhealthy stuff through the day.
4. if sleepy, use caffeinated soda as last resort. get active with Rock Band, or take a nap!
5. less repetitive gaming (*coughfacebookzooworld*) so my wrists last longer

 

Last week’s goals:

• clean physical space (corner bedroom) – some improvement
• write something

Goals for this week:

• create custom workout for EA Active
• create summer schedule to include writing time
• relax, read my bliss book
• take some time to read and enjoy Trinity Coven

Spring “Break”

This last week was an interesting one. B was sick for a week, staying home from school Monday and Tuesday. I didn’t have to worry about missing school the rest of the week, as it was Spring Break. Tomorrow he goes back to school (yay!).

My wrists were also hurting, so I took a break from writing and video games to give them a rest. (Thus the lack of blog updates.)

What did get done was house stuff. And I got a lot of reading done. B did as well. Just prior to Spring Break was parent teacher conference. Since B is doing so well in school (going to start some first grade level work), we bought him an early reader at the book fair. This is the first book that is really meant for his reading level, and he was excited to read it to me. Made it easy to get some reading in even though he was home sick.

B is very demanding when he’s home. Not just because he was sick. Wants Mommy to be involved in everything. I don’t want to know how many board games we played. Or video games on Monday (which probably contributed to the sore wrists).

Before school gets out for the summer, I will want to create some sort of routine, for everyone’s sanity.

Thankfully, B seemed fully well by Easter. Had plenty of energy to play with his new foam dart gun and rocket launcher. Of course, as soon as B gets better, I start to feel sick… One more day of Spring Break to survive.

How was your Easter?

Tuesday Tally

Last week’s goals:

• finish query revisions
• add to my bliss book
• write two chapters in TC

 

Goals for this week:

• TC: finish current chapter and next
• poetry: revise two poems before submitting 
• get feedback on revised query (itching to send it out again. patience, young grasshopper)

 

Guess who got sick again? Yup, me. That’s what, once a month since school started? SO tired of cold and sick and headaches (especially the recent, cold/sick related sinus headaches which medicine doesn’t help much with). Started Thursday-ish, probably back up to 90% healthy today. What being sick again did help me to realize (I’m slow, m’kay?) is how much time I waste on good days. I need to be more focused, have more productive days to carry me through the slumps (both physical and emotional).

I did write half a chapter. Not the two I was planning on, but still progress. This week we’ll aim for finishing the one and a half carried over from last week.

I love the comments I’m getting on my excerpts, good confidence boosters, so I’d like to continue those. The question: Continue to include excerpts with Tuesday Tally, or feature them in a separate post (probably Wednesday or Thursday)? Preferences?

Current research location and dream vacation: villages of Castle Combe and Avebury.

Tuesday Tally and the sick saga

Goals for last week:

• write one scene per weekday. TC scenes have been averaging 700 words, so that would be around 3500 words
• send out more queries
• submit at least 3 poems – 6 sent

What really happened:

Tuesday evening I felt tired and achy. The next morning I was definitely sick. Sore throat, fever, runny nose, cough. Was sick all week. Ugh. Still got a lingering cough, but feeling much better. I didn’t get any writing done though.

 

What kept me sane while I sniffled and sneezed:

Playing Gyromancer.

Finished reading The Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen.

Finished my follow ups. Sent emails about poetry, made phone call about health insurance issue, etc.

Sent out queries and poems.

Following all the clues and revelations for The Secret World on the forums. There were tweets and scripture clues and website hunts. Fun following all the theories. And keeping up with the 70 pages of forum. No way I’d go back and read that after. Starting while it was only a few pages long, and refreshing every five minutes while sick and not doing much else? No problem.

 

Goals for this week:

• send out more queries
• joined a challenge on Writing.com to add 10,000 words to my novel (TC) this week. Need to make up for not writing last week.
• hunt down and post all blog awards to sidebar

 

I’m glad you all enjoyed my excerpt last week. That was my first time writing in Bridget’s POV. Was quite fun. My current challenge is figuring out how to start the next chapter. I know what happens, and who’s point of view, just not sure when to pick back up. What I really want to write is the second half of the chapter. I need to suck it up and write the first scene. Ooh, maybe I should utilize Write or Die to get it out of the way without over-analyzing it.

Later this week: blog award. Time to get a little boy ready for school, and then I have much to do.

Tuesday Tally, Micro version

 

Last week goals done.

This month = NaNoWriMo

Today: woke up sick (sore throat, aches, blahs). will write something anyway, but no set goals. priorities today will include nap.

Tuesday Tally; Sept off to a sick start

EotF Status

# of queries out: 7

# of fulls out: 0

additional querying on hold

 

T.C. Status

word count: 9,034

 

FwM Status

word count: 5,751

 

Color Poems

complete: 14

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous goals:

• edit four chapters – edited one
• one new chapter for Trinity Coven – nothing new

 

Goals for this week:

• make some progress editing EotF without overworking myself
• get well

 

My goals did not include getting sick. My son stayed home Thursday and Friday with a fever and runny nose. Taking care of him, I didn’t get much done. Then Saturday, just as he’s feeling better, I get sick. Ugh. Still not feeling well, though at least I’m on the upswing. Not looking forward to the walking to school part, but I am looking forward to an uninterrupted nap later this morning.

Tuesday Tally – Halfway through year

EotF Status

# of queries out: 6

# of fulls out: 1

 

T.C. Status

word count: 8,272

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 3,028

progress

 

Color Poems

complete: 13

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous goals:

• brainstorm wizard story for anthology – have a few ideas which I’ll let simmer for a while
• write rest of Alexa letters for FwM – wrote needed ones for story, going to write a few more for backstory that won’t be in book
• house project – organize scrap book supplies

Goals for this week:

• finish fleshing out chapters 1 and 2 of FwM
• poetry submission
• write new poem
• house project – weed flower garden out front

 

Six months left in 2009, so I thought I would revisit my goals for the year. As usual, I seem to have way over estimated my abilities. My goals were all in increments of 50. If I was super awesome, my numbers would be 25/50 for each. Here’s the actual totals to date:

 

Books read  10/50

Poems written 17/50

Poems submitted 28/50

Chapters written 5/50

 

Okay, that’s painfully behind. But I must remember what I have accomplished. I’ve queried twenty-one agents, purchased and moved into a house, babysat two kids full time for one month, and gotten into a regular exercise routine with my husband which is actually showing success (my arms have muscles after all!).

 

What I’ve learned so far:

1. I’m not in a place where I can read one book a week. Maybe if I only read Young Adult books, and/or didn’t have so many other hobbies. Of course, a five year old also interferes with long reading sessions.
2. Mystery books slow me down. I’m just not into them like I used to be, and find myself reading only a few pages at a time.
3. I second guess myself a lot when writing, which interferes with getting chapters done. I keep telling myself to allow first draft messes, but my pep talks are easier said than applied. So much easier to write a page, then say I’ve accomplished something and allow myself to go browse the web, or play a game.
4. It’s even easier not to write when I’m tired, hot, and/or have a headache. I need to stop making excuses, and stop beating myself up. A good writing session is energizing, and will help me forget the heat and aches.

 

I don’t have to be perfect, as long as I’m moving forward. How are your goals for the year coming along?

*Waves Hello*

Hi everyone! Miss me? I’m feeling much better today. Ready to get writing and blogging again. I need to get a camera again so I can show off Rayna, our kitty.

 

How come every time we buy something for the house, I discover two more things that we either need or want for it? House = Never-ending project. Enjoying the space though. :-)

 

P.S. Thanks to Little Scribbler for the blog award while I was gone. I’ll pass it on later this week.

Alive

I think.

Move successful. Internet acquired yesterday. House looking much better even after just one week. (Hubby only working half days for the win.) Body adjusting to torture of moving and housework. Got kitty (gorgeous 2 month old short hair, tortoiseshell). Got from shelter. Name that came with her: Raynie. Changed it to Rayna.

Now feeling miserable. Think I got food poisoning. Hope to get back to regular blogging next week. Got to run. :-S

Workout with Wii

Now that I've been feeling well again, I've been getting into My Fitness Coach (MFC for short). It's the best program I've tried so far for overall workouts. The problem with Wii Fit is that I  have to choose which exercises to do, and it doesn't include warm-up or cool down. And if I forget to stretch, it generally cripples me the next day. A change with My Fitness Coach from Yourself! Fitness, is the ability to log and get credit from other workouts, whether cardio, swimming, walking, etc. Wii Fit has something similar, but without the ability to choose which day to credit for. With MFC, I can choose the activity, length of time, and which day of the week I did it. I don't have to worry about turning on the game every day just to record it.

 

Wii Fit is still great for working on my balance. Nothing matches it there. But I'm keeping my workouts with it to the balance section. The strength, yoga, and aerobics work better (for me) through MFC.

 

So, the new workout schedule I'm going to do my best to stick to:

 

Monday - 30 minutes with My Fitness Coach

Tuesday - 15 minutes Wii Fit for balance

Wednesday - 30 minutes with My Fitness Coach

Thursday - 15 minutes Wii Fit for balance

Friday - min. 15 minutes Wii Sports

Saturday - 30 minutes with My Fitness Coach

Sunday - rest (though on warm days I'd like to reinstate our leisurely family walk)

A Few Notes

Still sick, but on the upswing.

 

Title "Magic is Believing" changed to "Fly with Me."

 

Due to last week's funeral, and then being sick, I am behind on pretty much all of my obligations and goals... and now have paperwork to do for pre-kindergarten evaluations for B.

 

Bought My Fitness Coach (it's Yourself! Fitness (best exercise program I've tried), new and improved for Wii), but haven't started it up due to achey blahness of being sick.

 

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

540. What do your parents do that you will try never to do? I'm not sure, so peacefully backing out of this one.

541. What gets you through the night? Knowing I am loved and not alone.

542. Do you really want to live forever? I don't know. If I was in prime condition, and wasn't alone, sure. But if everyone I knew was dying, then no.

543. Do you often experience powerful emotions? Absolutely. My emotions are generally way up or way down, very rarely mild.

544. What could make you so happy right now that you would cry and laugh and sing? To get an email from Firebrand Literary Agency requesting the full of manuscript for EotF, or an acceptance from a magazine for Blazing Princess, or to find out I somehow inherited a lot of money and can go out and buy a house.

 
545. Who is your favorite visual artist? My favorite for the longest time was Vincent Van Gogh (still ranks high on my list). Now, I'd have to say Selina Fenech.

Not feeling well

All three of us got sick over the long weekend. B and my husband are mostly better now, but my sick phase just started yesterday. Lots of feeling blah. Hard to be creative when my head is stuffy and fuzzy.

Early Christmas, mistakes, and the future

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

471. What is one interesting fact you know? The twelve days of Christmas technically starts on Christmas Day and ends on January 5th. January 6th is Epiphany, the celebration of the Wise Men bringing gifts. For some it is a tradition to give gifts on all of the twelve days. The 12th day of Christmas, the last day of Christmas, is January 5th.

 

472. Do you talk to yourself? All the time.

Do you talk to your pets? I'm sure I would if I had one.

473. Do you believe that humankind has a future in space (will we live there some day)? We are living in space. We are not outside space. I don't know if we'll survive to explore and live on other planets.

474. Would you rather wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or more delicate outfits? Comfort is more important that dirt or delicacy. Since I'm not one for delicate outfits for that reason (not as comfy), I'll go with the former.

475. How do you 'live life to the fullest'? Don't let obstacles stop your dreams. Keep striving, be yourself, be happy.

476. Are you sloppy or a neat freak? sloppy

477. Would you rather have a trunk full of nickels or half a trunk full of dimes? half a trunk of dimes. dimes are smaller, so it would be more money with less actual coins to put in the coin machine.

478. What is the worst mistake you've ever made? Basing my self confidence off my relationships. I made plenty of mistakes during the HS/dating/relationships phase. I hurt a lot of people. I was so clueless and selfish.

479. Are you in good health? well, I'm not in bad health

480. Are you patriotic? yes, but not overbearingly so

QA time again

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

444. Are you better at talking or listening? listening

445. What will only happen to you once in this lifetime? birth.

446. Know of any conspiracy theories you think might be credible? not on top of conspiracy theories

 
447. What are the most beautiful words that have ever been spoken to you? I might have an answer to that if I could delve into my journals (packed away, sadly). I should pay more attention to these things.

448. If it were legal would you own a human slave (race unimportant)? no. I'd be uncomfortable with a genie slave. I was uncomfortable when in 5th grade our class was split up into slaves and owners. I was the latter. I don't recall having my "slave" do much.

449. Have you ever read your own writing at a poetry reading? yes. very nerve wracking, yet empowering.

450. What is one simple thing that gives you the happy shivers? eating chocolate or banana pudding

451. What do you do for exercise? three days a week I work out 30 minutes with Yourself! Fitness (personal trainer program for Xbox).

452. Would you rather have a strict teacher with a sense of humor or a lenient teacher that doesn't teach? strict with a sense of humor. those are the ones that make learning fun.

453. If you ever have a baby what might you want to name it? my pre-married list included the following names: Jonathon Tyler, Caleb Andrew, Matrim Dale, Emma Marie, Alexa Dawn, Sariah Ruth, and Ember Nicole. Names most considered when actually pregnant: Sebastian (was our initial favorite, but my in-laws hated it), Vincent, and Ashlee (would have been B's name if he was a girl).

454. If you won free tickets to a concert from a radio show and had to choose between Inxs, Poison, Blondie and Moby, which would you choose? One moment while I look those up on YouTube. ... Okay, turns out I've actually heard music from all of them. I'd definitely go with Blondie.

455. Are you a good cook? no. I am a lousy cook. We stick to time-proven recipes.

456. Do you prefer when things come with no assembly required, even if they are a bit more expensive? no. I like assembling things with my husband. It's something we've enjoyed together since putting together our first pieces of furniture during our early days as a married couple

457. Start a sentence with the words: what if. What if magic was merely believing?

458. Are you more spontaneous and unpredictable or loyal and routine? loyal and routine

459. What is the highest number you can count to in your head? I remember trying to find out back in the elementary school days. Don't remember how high I got, but I know the numbers weren't accurate higher up (making up words such as a gagillion). Nowadays, I'd probably be likely to get lost after 1 million. I don't care to waste time finding out.

460. How do you go about losing weight? haven't had a need to. getting rid of that tummy pooch is a different matter...

Tuesday Tally and feeling better

EotF Update

total words to date: 91,507

pages: 407

chapters revised: 13/27 (draft 5)

 

T.C. Status

word count: 1471

 

This month's goals:

• finish five antagonist chapters for EotF - 2/5 done
• finish EotF draft 5 
• submit at least one batch of poetry
• submit Blazing Princess
• work on Trinity Coven

Last week's goals:

• finish 2nd ant. ch. and write 3rd
• prep next Fantasy newsletter
• wait in eager anticipation for Friday's listing of contest entries, and comment on at least five other openings once they're up - great stuff over there! quite a learning experience 
• write a new poem (for WDC contest)

This week's goals:

• submit poetry
• write another new poem
• write 3rd and 4th antagonist chapters

 

I got a little caught up revising my opening of EotF and didn't get around to writing the third Zalandar chapter (as an aside, "The Zalandar Chapters" sounds like a title of its own...). Will remedy that this week.

 

Still a tad under the weather, but seemed to be a short-lived sickness. Yay for small blessings.

unwell

Woke up this morning not feeling well. Luckily, it was a day my husband works from home so he helped out with the boys while I rested. Feeling a bit better now. Hopefully I will feel even better tomorrow.