Day 171: One for the Team

Some time ago - we're talking months, not years - I joined an SP team called WeBlog. As you've heard me say before, I go thru phases where I write. (And equally thru stages where there are hardly any words at all. Moderation in all things? More like from one extreme to the other, I guess, but I'd like to think it all balances out in the long run, lol.) I thought a team devoted to blogging sounded like a good motivator to get me to write more often, and maybe give me some ideas. Which it has.

We've been having a little discussion over there, as the leader has gone quiet (shades of coincidence - I think the leader on a couple teams I know has gone quiet too; she's still here on Spark, but rarely posts... I'm referring to those teams, ah, I lead, but I digress) and we're keeping the team active until her return.

At any rate, one of the team members posted a blog challenge to write a blog about our progress and our current program, things like that.

I suppose I do that fairly often - that is, I've done some blogs with photos to show my progress to date, and I've talked about some of the techniques that have worked (are working) for me in terms of improvement, overall health, etc.

While I'm more than happy to spout off about those things that have worked for me (how many of you have cringed at the sight of some of my wordy postings? raise your hands... oh, wait, too many to count... tell you what, those of you who DON'T think any of my blogs have been OTT, raise your hands... aha, thought so... you three should go back and read 'em from the beginning, lol), I am ever so reluctant to suggest other people follow 'my' plan, or do the things I do.

I am of the firm belief that not everything will work for everybody. An example: I have a snack at night, within an hour of turning out the light. I know what 'they say,' that eating at bedtime just allows your body to convert all the calories to stored fat... that it wreaks havoc with your metabolism... that the worst time to eat is when you won't be up and around to use the fuel... I know.

But after much (MUCH) trial and error, I found: 1) eating a light snack settles my stomach; 2) I don't have trouble falling asleep because I'm hungry; 3) I don't wake up in the middle of the night and have a ravin' cravin'; 4) I'm not starving when I get up in the morning - hungry, but not ravenous; and most of all, 5) my blood glucose is very happy with this.

Would that work for you? Hellifeyeknow. Some of you say you do best if you don't eat any additional food after supper, or after 8 PM, or within two hours of bedtime. To that I say - good for you! You've found something that works for you, something you can live with, and THAT is the important thing.

So, in short (hah) - in terms of progress, it's not too bad. I've got some things that still need to be sorted (more weight to lose, better fitness, get the BP stable in the normal range, etc), but overall, especially compared to where I was when I started, not too bad.

In terms of my program - it's a work in progress. A work IN progress FOR progress, if you will. I'm struggling with the BP, really struggling with it, so I'm being scrupulous about salt, really conscientious about fresh produce (fiber), and drinking enough water to float a battleship - all this in addition to making sure I move, fairly vigorously, for at least 30 minutes a day. We shall see.

But constant monitoring, tinkering, experimenting, tweaking - with yourself as the lab experiment - is the only way to find out what works, IMHO. Things change, metabolism changes, food-burning efficiency changes, YOU change. Nothing living is static. There's continual change, and myself, for myself, I need to keep adapting the plan to accommodate the changes.

I can't head directly into the wind, but I can tack and adjust the sails as I go along.

Goodnight, Sparklers, wherever you are!