Day 359: The Single Greatest Work of Art

"Our life is the single greatest work of art we will ever make. Occasionally we need to step back from our life like an artist stepping back from his or her canvas, seeing what needs changing for the painting to be complete."

I'm spending the rest of December reflecting on the year I've had. Although the decision was made in 2018, my life didn't start to change until January 4, 2019 when I started the Nutrisystem program. In the early days I had to step back often and take a look at what was working and what was not working, then make some adjustments. My long term goal is to eat "clean" but I'm still a ways from that. In February I began my exercise program and after a fair number of starts and stops it's become a part of my daily life. It's not my favorite thing to do but I know how important it is to my overall health and my goals. I still struggle with pain in my left hip on occasion but it hasn't kept me off the treadmill in quite a while. It has been sore the past few days as a result of the faster paced Hannah Eden workouts I've been trying to do. I've come to the realization that anything beyond 3.4 mph is too much for me. I thought I'd have to take a break from Hannah until the pain in my hip subsides but the rest of the workouts in the series are at slower speeds that I can manage. I've also started a walking series in India with Jonnie Gale and his pace is perfect for me. Even with my limitations I've seen a gradual increase in my abilities. In the very beginning anything with incline was nearly impossible and max incline might as well have been Mount Everest because I couldn't do it. Today I can get through short (30 minutes or less) workouts at max incline. It's hard to believe the year is almost over. When I started Nutrisystem I was holding a book with 365 blank pages. What ended up on each page was 100% up to me and although it was a big responsibility I knew in my heart I was ready to write the story of the best year of my life. Even though 2019 has had its challenges and 2020 will bring its share of  fresh challenges, I feel better able to handle whatever comes along. Weight loss was goal #1 this year. Exercise was goal #2. Financial fitness was goal #3. All of my goals have seen significant progress, so for once in my life I'm not approaching New Year's with nothing but regrets. Instead I have achievements I am proud of. This is such a new feeling.

Breakfast was a 2.1 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll with peppermint bark coffee. I didn't have my power fuel or morning snack. Lunch was a 4 ounce 220 calorie spinach & cheese pretzel melt with a chef salad. Dressing added 30 calories. I didn't have an afternoon snack either. Dinner was a 9.2 ounce 270 calorie ravioli formaggio that I served with steamed broccoli. Evening snack was a 2 ounce 140 calorie pumpkin cake. Total calories for the day are 860 and I got 64 ounces of water in.

After my late night I didn't get out of bed until very late so my sleep schedule is way off. I set an alarm for tomorrow so I'll get out of bed early and get back on track for the week ahead. I'm working from home but I still need to be up and alert ! After the hustle and bustle of the holidays and my car accident I'm glad to have the weekend to decompress and just relax. I didn't sit on the couch all day but I didn't have to go anywhere so that made the day relaxing. I was able to get 2 workouts in and that felt good. This afternoon I completed #3 in the Bolivia series with Hannah Eden. This one had about 10 minutes of max incline in the beginning but speed was greatly reduced. I actually had to speed up the workout because it was going too slow for me. This is because the max incline in the program reached up to 34% and necessitates a greatly reduced speed. Since my treadmill only goes to 10% the speed was much too slow for me. My evening workout was another in the India series with Jonnie Gale. It was 2 minute intervals at 3.2 mph with 1 minute recoveries at 2.8 mph. This was the perfect pace for me ! I logged 2.6 miles, 60 minutes and 348 calories. Today I feel like I am 100% back on the Nutrisystem plan. I got hungry during last night's movie fest and had some of the leftover stuffing with some gravy. I will confess, it was SO good and I don't regret eating it. I thought about having some today since I have a lot of leftover calories but I ultimately decided I didn't want to make it a habit. It's all portioned out and frozen now and it will be an occasional treat in the coming weeks. Today I roasted a huge sheet pan of veggies and if I get the late night hungries I'll be snacking on those ! I mixed fresh green beans, fresh brussel sprouts, fresh mushrooms and fresh carrots with a bit of olive oil and a liberal sprinkle of garlic jalapeno seasoning then roasted at 400 for 40 minutes. Then I turned the oven off and left them for about an hour. I sampled them as I was putting them in the fridge and they were delicious. In the past I always covered the pan and as a result the veggies would get soggy. Today I left them uncovered and got a true roast. I'll be enjoying these in the days to come ! I have some green beans, brussel sprouts and carrots left and I'm going to use them to try out the air fryer I got for Christmas.

I truly enjoyed my Saturday and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Sunday. Time now for a shower and bed !