Another Set Of Small Steps...

My roomie & I recently finished our 1st mega-Spring cleaning of the house.  Since then, we have begun to cycle back through it.  There were things that needed to be done in the house since we've moved in.  We either didn't feel well enough or felt overwhelmed by the prospect.  So, it never got done.

Finally, we agreed to allow ourselves a short bit of time everyday that we would allot to cleaning one thing or small area.  We mostly stuck with our plan, but some parts required more time.  Slowly we finished & it was probably the only way it was going to get done by us.  

Now, we're on the next cycle through the house, cleaning what we just cleaned.  We're finding two things.  Some things were no where near as clean as we thought that we'd gotten them the 1st time around.  In addition, we're also noting that what took us 10 minutes last time is taking just a couple this round.  We knocked out the first hard part & now we're on to maintenance.  This is how a habitual cleaning starts.

How does this relate to health or HIV?  When you're +, you often find yourself frustrated, tired & overwhelmed.  This approach is the way I've had to handle a lot things in my life.  I can either set back & let everything overwhelm me & do nothing.  Or, I can tackle a small part everyday as I can & muddle through it.  Some days I can't do even that & that's frustrating, but it's OK.  I'll do what I can as I can. This isn't a race.  This is about the proverbial one step at a time.

Cya...

Short Post Baby Steps...

The post is going to be short today.  It's storming here in Oklahoma & the electricity has flickered once already.   So a short post it is.  

This one is about me & some baby steps I'm taking.  I've mentioned I've been watching my blood pressure for a bit.  I've decided there are some things I can do in my life before resorting to more meds.   I've been slowly changing my diet & adding some physical activity into my life, I refuse to call it by the "E" word.(Exercise)  Weirdly enough, I have this blog to thank somewhat for my choice to engage in this undertaking.

This blog reminded me that I'm a Virgo, dammit.  If I choose to embrace something in my life & not have it forced on me I can get used to just about any regimen.  I have blogged continuously for over 15 months now.  I can make a habit out of any thing, not that that's always such a good thing.

As important as it is for me to choose the new addition(s) in my life, they have to relatively unnoticeable at first.  The diet aspect about this has focused more positive rewards (introducing something good), instead of negative sanctions, (removing something).  I've cut back on the amount of junk food, but not removed it from my diet.  Instead, I have focused on eating much more fruit than I was.  Also, I have tried to make sure that I have a fairly plain, side salad with low cal dressing or vinegar & oil several times a week.  I have been more consistent with my vinegar lately.  Apple Cider Vinegar can work wonders for you, Google it.

Onto the activity part.  In February, I decided I can handle adding 5 minutes of movement to my daily roster.   Everyday, I got up & did a mix of little-kid wiggles, toe-touching, squats, walking in place & any thing else I could do in 5 minutes.  Even that was cause to be sore for the first couple of days, but I kept at it.  In March I added 5 - 8 minutes in the midday.  I'm doing mostly leg lifts, crunches & incline push-ups there.  In April, I added 5 minutes in the late afternoon, this is mostly floor work with reverse leg lifts & leg pumps.  In May I will added another 5 minutes across the board & so on in June, until I am up to 30 minutes a day of physical activity not already part of my daily routine.

I know, 5 minutes a day, woohoo, stop the presses.  I'm really good at the sarcasm & my favorite exercise is the eye-roll.  But I had to start somewhere & I knew if I started with too much, I'd quit in a heartbeat.  Now this physicality is becoming part of my routine.  Hopefully in a few months, it'll pay off.  I'll lose some weight & lower my blood pressure.  Here's to baby steps.  I guess this wasn't such a short post after all.

Cya...