Tweak three–not a huge success. The truth is, my lower back was in a state. I sat in a small plastic chair that was too low to the ground for five hours on the weekend–in retrospect, not such a brilliant idea. It felt okay at the time, but the next day, I knew exactly why I was in pain.
The lower back pain lasted most of the week, so “walking as much as I could” did not amount to much, until Thursday or so.
Tweak four will have two components:
1/ I will track everything I eat in a food journal. (Just to assess things, but I suspect it will lead to more circumspect choices). This is my new tweak. Going to weight watchers is one of my larger goals, but going and following their plan perfectly and tracking everything all at once is too much for one week (small steps, you know). So this is a first step.
2/ I will “walk as much as I can.” This is one I want another shot at.
Two tweaks this week is no small order, but I think they are manageable.
Oh, and let’s not forget, the third tweak for the week–
3/ I am never, ever going to sit in that particular chair again. (I am pretty sure this one will be easy even though, as you know, I normally eschew “forever” promises.)
I am happy to report that tweak two (eat beans) is thriving. I had beans six days this week, without trying. I think it’s safe to say this one is a keeper.
So how are you doing?
That’s my theory.
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.