Here’s the deal: I only have two pairs of jeans that fit me right now thanks to quarantine pounds, and both of them have holes worn in the thighs because hey…it’s been a while since I’ve had a thigh gap. Well, I’ve never had a thigh gap actually – but when you don’t have a thigh gap you can hold more kittens in your lap, so as far as I’m concerned it’s a no brainer.

As promised, I’m back to share all the deets of my wellness plan. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check my big post on gratitude and my following post about launching a new life. That’ll bring you up to speed!

My wellness plan is huge. Like, bigger than the obnoxious leggings in which I just trounced around the neighborhood in this morning. Wait till you see them…and you will. After that, you won’t be able to get the image out of your head. You’re welcome.

This is the perfect time for me to focus on wellness, which I’ve been neglecting for quite some time. As I was grieving the loss of my job, I distracted myself by making lists of all the things I would now have time to do. Here’s the list that started my wellness plan:

Weight Loss

• Goal 1: Lose quarantine pounds
• Goal 2: Hit 250 on the scale
• Goal 3: Hit 225 on the sale
• Goal 4: Hit 199 (OMG…first time in 100’s since I don’t know when)
• Goal 5: Hit my goal weight of 170

Insomnia

• Goal 1: Quit Aspartame
• Goal 2: Quit caffeine
• Goal 3:  Quit Ambien

Body Health

• Learn yoga for flexibility
  • Be able to sit cross-legged on the floor
• Use strength training to increase strength
• Begin with gentle exercise to increase activity levels gradually

Spiritual Health

• 7 minute morning meditation to enable better focus and increase positive energy
• Wind down for bed using Headspace meditation
• Get 20 minutes of sunlight each day
  • Create a peaceful spot outside where I can sit and enjoy it

Nutritional Health

• Take vitamins and supplements
• Learn about gut health and make positive changes to diet
• Decrease the processed foods in my diet

That’s quite a list, right? You see why I have to be thoughtful about my approach, lest I go all Clark Griswold on myself again and go way overboard. I don’t mind failing, but failing at everything because I went for it all at the same time and didn’t plan…well…that’s just a waste of my damn time.

This week is all about starts. Here’s what I’m focusing on in each part of the plan:

Weight Loss:

To lose my quarantine pounds (29 of them, thank you): I cut out all junk food and am logging my food in My Fitness Pal. I’ll keep pushing forward with this goal until I’ve lost all 29 quarantine pounds – and then I can focus on the next goal for weight loss.

Insomnia:

To quit Aspartame and caffeine, I’m not drinking anything with either in it after 7 pm. Next week, that will change to 5 pm…and so on. When I’m done getting these out of my system for good, then I’ll begin my Ambien detox.

Body Health:

As soul crushing at it feels, I’m doing Chair Yoga for Seniors off of a YouTube video I found. This is a good lesson in accepting where I am with my lack of flexibility and being willing to work from here in order to improve it.

For gentle exercise, I’m taking an early morning walk at a leisurely pace…just to get some steps in and get my bones used to the impact of walking. It may seem silly to some, but just a slow, leisurely walk on the pavement when you have 100 extra pounds of weight to carry around is a lot. Honestly, I don’t know how I functioned when I weighed 398 pounds! My hips and legs are sore from the walk I took this morning and I promise you…it was not a strenuous walk.

Spiritual Health:

Although I forget about it some mornings, I’m trying to do 7 minutes of meditation before I really start my day. The challenge is that I go on auto pilot in the morning and I forget to do it. I make my protein shake and sit on the couch, start scrolling through my phone, and poof!

I’m also trying to get outside for 20 minutes a day. There are some challenges to that, which I’ll share in  a future blog post, but I have to admit it is nice to get outside and put my toes in the grass.

Nutritional Health:

I’m reading a book about gut health right now, which I think will help me to understand the why behind the shoulds and should nots of eating healthy – and I’ve already cut processed crap out of my eating. Yay me!

So what tools am I using in this giant wellness project of mine? I’m glad you asked. Here are some of my favorites:

My Fitness Pal

It’s an old friend, but I do love it. I especially love the feature that allows you to scan the bar code on any food with your phone so you don’t have to type it in and search for the right one. I did that with my Greek yogurt this morning. So fab. You can find the app in your app store, or online here.

Eat Yourself Healthy

I’m interested in learning more about gut health, so I grabbed this book. You can get a copy from Amazon by clicking the link below. Full disclosure: Amazon gives me a small commission if you click that link. They don’t increase the price for you, but I make a little money for sending you their way…which is nice right now because I don’t have a job – so if you’re going to buy it, consider clicking the link and send me some love!

Headspace

Tons of content for free (although I have a paid membership because I think it’s worth it). Lots of different courses of meditation. Insomnia. Mindful Eating. Happiness. You can choose a male or female voice to listen to. I’ve never heard the female voice, but the male voice is Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe and he’s British. His voice is lovely. You can find it in your app store.

Yoga with Adriene on YouTube

She’s pretty awesome and there are a ton of yoga classes on her channel. You can find her here.

My Backyard

No, that’s not a tool…but that’s what’s easy when it comes to getting a little sun. Here’s the problem: I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my backyard for a long time. It’s not very relaxing place to be. Future project? Yep. Future blog post? Hell yep.

This is launch week for this project, so it all feels very clunky right now…but I’ve already lost 2 of those quarantine pounds. I enjoy the chair yoga, even if it is incredibly humbling when I realize how flexible I’m NOT. And this morning I was so determined to go on my walk that I left the house in an outfit I’m pretty sure traumatized any neighbors who might be looking out the window. Check it out:

So there it is! I’ll be back every Wednesday with an update on my wellness project. Be sure to follow my Facebook Fan Page or my Instagram account to get little updates through the week on all the projects I have going on right now, including Home Sweet Home. Speaking of which, it’s time for me to go make another clean spot in my stitchy room if I’m going to stay on track organizing this love nest. I’ll catch y’all later!