Tag: plan

Posted in Overall health

January Reset!

Posted on by nlchronicles

Is anyone with me on resetting or starting new this month? I had wayyyyyy too many carbs and sugar in the months of November and December and I’m feeling the effects. While my sleep has been good, I have also been much more tired than usual. And I’ve been stiffer in the morning though that could be due to the colder temperatures as well.

Making plans!

For so many (including me), a new year means new resolutions that typically dissolve before the month is over, despite the best of intentions. Instead, I’m making plans! These plans include my physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual health. So many times I focus on just the physical aspect because that is what is easy for me to grasp. But my hope for this year is to nudge each area just a bit down the best path for me.

Won’t you join me?

Wishing you all the best in 2023! Thanks for supporting this journey and you are invited to share your own.

Posted in food

Eating across America – Wellness Wednesdays

Posted on by nlchronicles

One of the hardest parts of changing my eating habits was finding an acceptable place to eat when I travelled, especially for work or vacation as I may go to an area that I’m not as familiar with. So today I’m doing something different than my other posts. Let’s chat about great places to eat that may meet dietary restrictions.

As I mentioned before, I follow a cross between the paleo diet and the AIP protocol, focusing on nutrients like iron, my continued problem child 😃. So I can’t just say- oh let me grab a breakfast sandwich from this chicken place that has wonderful biscuits and chicken! And that can create a problem. I have quite literally sat and started crying because I’m hungry but have no idea of what food is in an area that I won’t have a reaction to later. whew!

So…let’s share recommendations of where we can eat. I’ll start with what have been go to places for me.

  • Whole Foods market. Prior to the pandemic, this was by far the best place for me to go. The hot bar lists what is in the food so it was an easy choice. I went to Whole Foods in: Manchester, NH; Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham, NC; Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Long Island, NY; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; Louisville, KY; Cincinnati, OH; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Huntsville, AL; Nashville, TN; San Antonio, TX; Santa Cruz, CA; Sacramento, CA. Yes, it’s that’s serious!
  • Restoration Cafe in Manchester, NH has great smoothies. I cannot do almond butter and almond milk but this place carried other nut butters and coconut milk.
  • Founding Farmers in the Washington DC area. I love love love this place. The menu is seasonal and always super fresh.
  • Zoe’s kitchen is one of the only chain restaurants that I frequent but the quality isn’t consistent. Some are always great but others aren’t so good.
  • First Watch is probably the only other chain restaurant that I go to and only for very specific items. Quality is always consistent so when I get a quinoa bowl in Franklin, Tennessee, it tastes the same in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  • Green District Salads in Louisville, KY. A relatively newer place with a few locations around the area. You can customize salads or wraps and they’re always tasty and fast.
  • Zameen at the Point in Capitola, CA. This is a small Mediterranean spot that I came across while in the area. It was soooo good and very fresh.

What places do you recommend? If you live outside of the United States, I invite you to share your recommendations as well – have passport, will travel! And if you have enjoyed the wellness Wednesday series, let me know and I’ll keep posting. The series was to be limited to summer so this may be the last post; let me know!

Posted in Uncategorized

Ergonomically Working from Home

Posted on by nlchronicles

Today’s blog post will be the last installment of working remotely as multiple states seek to re-open soon. I believe that many employees who did not have the opportunity to work remotely prior to coronavirus may be able to moving forward as companies see that employees can be productive and save on overhead while working from home.

One of the aspects of working from home that I did not consider when I began is ensuring that I used ergonomic products. Now, I’m the beginning, my health was not 100% so I worked from the comfort of being in bed …or so I thought. Not using the appropriate office furniture and equipment definitely took a physical toll on me – even to the point of now doing physical therapy for spine and neck. Yikes!

What would I have done differently if I could go back on time? I would have actually used the desk that I had but rarely used. Then maybe I would’ve noticed other products that could help along the way. I’ll share the two that I purchased since beginning physical therapy.

This is my stand to hold my laptop. It ensures that my eyes are actually at the appropriate level so my neck, shoulders and spine can attempt to be in alignment. The stand is adjustable in height as well and can work for either laptops or computer monitors. While this is not an endorsement, I purchased it at Staples before the outbreak of coronavirus.

My desk has a keyboard holder that slides out as well. Purchasing a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse was a game changer. Before I held my shoulders up as I placed my forearms on the desk to type. Wrong, wrong, wrong said my physical therapist. Using the keyboard has decreased neck and shoulder tightness and tension. Again, game changer. This is not a super fancy keyboard. I picked them up at Target immediately after a physical therapy appointment. The combination of both purchases was well under $100 so I consider them great investment tools.

Health is a priceless wealth. Invest while you can.

Bryant McGill

What suggestions might you have regarding ergonomic products? Has anything helped you? We would love to hear your feedback! As always 🥂 to your good health. Until next time …

Posted in Uncategorized

Remote work, part 2

Posted on by nlchronicles

I work remotely 75% of the time so I am sharing tips from my “normal” as so many are adjusting to this current reality.

This week’s advice:

– show your manager that you are working by picking up a side project.

Yes, that may sound odd when you have your regular work responsibilities so let me give you my example. When I am not working from home, I travel a great deal, sometimes every week for months at a time. Since all of my travel has been canceled through at least the end of April, I have much more time to fill during work hours. I decided to work on a procedure manual for my role. The job that I hold never existed before so I know there is nothing written down documenting what I do, how things are accomplished, the appropriate contact people, etc.

Not only does this self-given project fill my work hours, it also demonstrates initiative, being a self-starter, makes a great use of time- and your manager will know that you have been working. You may not travel, but you could use the time typically spent on meetings that are now conducted via email.

I hope this helps. Any other suggestions that may assist others?

Posted in Uncategorized

Working Remotely

Posted on by nlchronicles

I work from home about 75% of the time so I’m sharing tips as a remote employee during coronavirus.

If your job has moved to remote working during this crisis, these tips may help-

  1. Keep a schedule closely aligned with your regular schedule;
  2. Do not work in the bedroom to keep work/life separate;
  3. Find time to exercise – a walk around the block to get fresh air and a change of scenery;
  4. Make time for lunch. Sometimes, I blow right through lunch without realizing it because it’s so easy to do at home;
  5. Keep in touch with others. Working at home can be isolating so I make sure to call, text or video chat with some one during work breaks. And it might brighten their day!
  6. Use your normal commute time to pursue something that you would love to do but usually don’t have time for;
  7. Get dressed. It seems simple but it helps put me in the mindset for work.

I hope this helps! Any other suggestions that may assist others? Add yours as we adjust to this new “normal.” It is a blessing to be able to have to the option to work from when so many in the service and hospitality industries have not been able to. Stay healthy, maintain social distancing and until next time …🥂

Posted in Uncategorized

2020 Intentions

Posted on by nlchronicles

2020 isn’t just a new year. We are on the precipice of a new decade! And it’s time to be intentional with where I want to be during that time. I recently viewed a clip of Steve Harvey on twitter and he talked a good deal about writing your vision and keeping a vision board in front of you to actualize your future- having place to move toward rather than floating around any which way. So I’ve written ALOT about my hopes for this new decade that cover multiple aspects of life. You’ve got to write the vision and make it plain! I also made a digital vision board so that I can see it on my computer and use as my phone’s wallpaper.

Source: Country Living

I don’t necessarily set new year’s resolutions but I have started setting intentions and goals. I hope to bring these intentions with me every day. The intentions that I have set for 2020 are joy, love and blessings. My goals include continuing the great work on my physical health that I’ve started, working on career health (a unique way of framing it), and improving emotional and mental health. I want to continue working with a friend’s non profit foundation and hone in on my life’s purpose.

Thank you for taking the time to read my writings and I hope to continue to earn the privilege of your time in 2020. Happy New Year to all!! 🎊🥂🍾

Posted in Uncategorized

Work, travel and exercise

Posted on by nlchronicles

For about half of the year, I travel a good deal for work. As I write this, I am on a train to New York penn station so that I can head out to Long Island. I enjoy the flexibility of working from various locations but it can interfere with attempts to be healthy and, especially, to work out.

Initially, I just considered the additional movement of the day as exercise. You know- airport walking, train platform walking, wandering the stores, campuses, basically anything that got me moving while out for travel. But now I try to be more intentional about actually exercising while I’m on travel. I pack my workout clothes so that even if the hotel gym has only one treadmill, I’m going to use that one treadmill. I prefer the recumbent bike but it’s not available everywhere. I also use amazon prime to do a couple of easy stretch videos if that works better.

And when the weather is warmer, I’ll incorporate intentional walking outdoors and walking in the pool before anyone gets in. A coworker even looked up exercise classes at the local YMCA while we were in training for a week- wow, that’s dedication!! What tips do you have for exercising while working and traveling? Share your experiences; I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time 🥂…

My newest tip…pack a light sweatshirt for the gym because it can be chilly in there!

Scenes from recent gym adventures-

Watching Home Alone while on the bike
Heading down to the gym
Post bike workout
Posted in Uncategorized

Celebration!

Posted on by nlchronicles

I finally reached goal! (Now on to how to keep it off but that’s a blog for another day) that’s a total of 71 pounds, beginning August 2018! I’ll post my update pic below from 70 pounds when I was pushing for that ONE pound.

One pound to go

Side note: at my highest weight ever in life, I never actually weighed myself but based on my clothing size, pictures and the weight I was when I finally weighed myself, I’ve released about 100 pounds total. My highest was about 12 years or so ago.

I’m in a couple of fitness groups on Facebook and the women (sorry, guys) in the group mentioned how they planned to celebrate reaching their goal. I had never considered it but decided that was a great idea. This is probably the most consistent I’ve been with anything ever and I wanted to mark the occasion with something that I would remember. So after contemplating many options, I decided to buy a piece of jewelry with a ruby gemstone. Among many things, a ruby signifies health, wealth and wisdom which all played a role in this journey. I NEVER buy jewelry so every time I see this, I’ll be reminded of the grace given to accomplish this goal.

Celebration jewelry

I have not set any new goals yet but I hope to focus more on mental and emotional health- baby steps. Share any celebrations that you’ve had recently! 🥂 until next time…

Posted in Uncategorized

Conferencing

Posted on by nlchronicles

As I mentioned previously, I work with a nutritionist to manage PCOS. And it’s worked wonders. I’ve even been asked to speak on a panel for an upcoming conference about pcos in January that’s being held in California. (I hope I can get off work then!) Hopefully, my statement can inspire you or someone you know who manages hormone related challenges; positive change IS possible. It takes real commitment and a different level of effort (lots of tweaking to find out what is best for me), but I’m so glad to know that it’s even possible.

See, for so long, I thought I was just doomed to be on birth control pills forever as prescribed by physicians; I even had a pcos “specialist” tell me that my best course of action was to just remain on the pill forever! WTH!!! I knew that I had to find a better solution that reduced the need for medication- that takes a toll on your body because we aren’t meant to ingest such things for a long time. Western medicine has perfected the art of acute care but this doesn’t translate over to managing long term health challenges or improving their condition. Keep searching, doing the research and challenging the system so that alternative solutions might be covered by insurance.

The excerpt below is my statement for the conference:

🥂 to your good health! Until next time …

Posted in Uncategorized

Plateau

Posted on by nlchronicles

So I haven’t written in a bit- my work travel schedule has been INSANE lately. And that kinda leads to today’s blog- the dreaded plateau!

Schools are back in session and field teams are having lots of meetings so my travel has skyrocketed since Labor Day. This poses a challenge to eating properly, getting enough rest, exercising – you know, all the stuff that I did to have these results! I don’t want all the hard work to be for nothing.

I’ve been hovering around the same weight, within 2 pounds, for about 5 weeks. Tempting foods are everywhere and because I lean so heavily to Paleo, it can be a challenge to eat at the meetings that I attend which tend to have sandwiches. I am thankful that I haven’t GAINED weight 👏🏽👏🏽. So I’m trying to devise better strategies for road health. Here are some that I’m trying:

– no flights before 11 am, when possible. This allows me to get enough sleep and stay on a more consistent schedule. And no flights that arrive after 9 pm for the same reason; this one is a little tricker but still a goal to shoot for

– book hotels near the meeting site to stay with a decent sleep schedule and minimize anxiety for rushing in the morning

– find a hotel that has a restaurant on site for breakfast or has room service. Don’t knock the convenience of room service. In past travel jobs, I would miss breakfast every morning until I started using room service to ensure that I made time for it

– stay near Whole Foods Market or similar healthy food options. 💜 Whole Foods hot bar and other food options. It’s rare that I don’t find something that I like when I grab a bite and if the hotel has a fridge and microwave/stove, then I get enough for two meals so I don’t have to guess again later. This is today’s Whole Foods that I Uber-ed to

– stay at a hotel with a gym or pool and MAKE time to do it. I actually did that today 🤩. It’s not the most extensive gym but I did both the elliptical machine and the treadmill just to stay on target for 3 workouts a week, improve digestion and increase movement for the day

What about you? What tips or techniques do you use when traveling to continue to work toward your goals? Even if the above mentioned don’t get me to my target weight (6 more pounds to go), I’m at positioning myself for overall improvements. 🥂 until next time …