Tweak four part A: I did walk as much as I could, and more than any of the previous four weeks.  The back was totally better and the exercise felt great.

Tweak four part B: I also journaled everything I ate for about 5 days in the week.  Not perfect, but I am fine with that. 

Just journaling what I ate did indeed get me to pay more attention and take more care in what I ate.

I continue to eat beans almost every day.

The bad news is I am not feeling well–I am on antibiotics (for what appears to be a lingering bacterial infection) and they have me a bit pooped out.  So I am not promising any acrobatics this week.

Instead, tweak five is to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I can manage (in as close to their natural state as I can bear).  I kind of have been doing this the last few weeks too, but there is always room for growth.  I figure this tweak will help me recuperate as well as be part of my larger goal, and won’t take too much mental or physical energy away from getting better.

No doubt any of the previous tweaks would also help, should I be moved to repeat them.  I will see.

How are you doing?!?

Things went fine last week: I had beans every day but two. Friday was a vegetable curry which had few beans, but some kind of lima presence. Saturday I had some black beans. The rest of the week is detailed here. I call it a success, and I will continue to eat more beans than before.

For those keeping track, I learned in tweak 1 not to ban foods, since it made them more interesting (even if I did avoid them).

I learned in tweak 2 not to promise to do something every day, but that 5x a week might be a manageable addition. Especially for a food item. Ahem, especially for a high fiber food item like beans.

I was not sure what to do this week, but noted that due to various reasons, I have not been walking as much as I’d like to, lately, nor as much as I am used to. So Tweak 3 is to walk as much as I am able, and certainly every day.

This may be very little, today, since my lower back is troubling me. (I spent five hours in a meeting in an uncomfortable chair– I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but the chair seems fine at the time, and the next day, you realize it wasn’t.) But I read that you should move around as much as you can with lower back pain, so I will.

Hopefully later in the week, I will walk more enthusiastically. With vim and vigour.

This seems like a manageable tweak; the onus is on me to make sure I stretch myself.

How, and what, are you doing?

Over and out.

How’s it going?

If you remember, my tweak was to eat beans every day.

Well, I haven’t quite.

Sunday: cannelini beans in soup for dinner

Monday and Tuesday: no beans

Wednesday: pre-packaged Tasty Bite brand Madras Lentils (which actually appears to consist of black lentils and kidney beans) for lunch

Thursday: cuban style black beans for lunch

Monday and Tuesday it just didn’t happen.  I  left it for dinner time and on Monday I felt gassy, sorry to be graphic.  (As I said, beans are nothing new to me, so I don’t assume they were the reason).  Tuesday I just plain forgot.

No worries!  Onwards.  If anything, I have learned it may be best to plan to do something X number of days a week, but not seven.  Too hard.

I hope it is going well for you?   If not, focus on identifying a great idea for next week.

What would make life better?