Self-Care and Stitches

This week, I decided to two things to take care of myself. 

I thought it was easy to neglect self-care when I was commuting to work but it is so much easier to neglect it when I'm home all the time. At least when I was commuting, I would have the drive to and from work to be by myself and listen to my favorite music or my latest audiobook. Now, I don't have very many moments alone and I don't even think about it since I'm home anyway.

But it was time. Work was getting to me on new levels and I just felt stressed no matter what I was doing. So I got in the car and drove the hour and a half to F.H.F. Hair Design to see my favorite stylist, Hal.

While on the drive, I had my music up and I was singing along to the songs I love. No one was there to judge my off tune jamming. It was something I hadn't done in awhile, since I have barely driven at all since they sent us home from work in March. I had forgotten how much I enjoy that.

Going to the hair salon is always a great stress-release, especially when I let them do things like this:

bye bye blue hair

They cut most of my blue hair off and then dyed it dark and red. :)

The finished product was beautiful, as always. I really enjoy having short hair. It feels freeing and it's easier to take care of (but harder to maintain).

I always really enjoy going up there, even if it is a long drive.

The other thing I did for self-care this week wasn't so much about taking time for myself but about taking care of something about myself that kind of bothered me.

My scalp had a couple of cysts on it. It wasn't a health crisis or anything. In fact, if I left them alone, nothing would have happened to me. But one of them was getting a little too big and making me self-conscious. So, I had it and its friend removed.

There are stitches in my scalp now. Believe me when I tell you, I have no idea how to handle them. The only other time I've had stitches in my life I don't remember (I was 2). I asked the doctor when I could wash my hair again, he said, "After 48 hours, you can do whatever you want." Vague but a bit less strict than I had anticipated.

I also did some Googling. The very last thing I want to do is cause an infection or re-open the cut. Head wounds bleed like mad. Everything I read seemed to agree to the 48 hour rule but most weren't so cavalier about what happens after that. I decided to be maybe a bit over careful so Amanda went to Target with me to find mild shampoo. I was so skiddish washing and rinsing my hair that it took forever. Also, no hair products (not that I use them that often anyway).

If you have tips about how to deal with stitches in your hair, please share them

Removing the cysts wore me out for about two days, though. I'm only just now feeling better but I'm still exhausted. I think it's because I'm not sleeping well due to being so anxious about sleeping on my stitches. It's not comfortable. But I'm getting old. I believe I would have bounced back quickly if I had been in my twenties.

Stitches out in 2 weeks. I'm counting the days.

For the record, I do feel a bit better having done these two things. I know work stress is going to escalate with everything going on but I think I'll handle it better having taken this time out.

Weight Loss Plans

 

Apologies (again) for not posting very often. I think it's clear that I'm still not making writing a priority. Fortunately, I tend to feel more inspired to write in the Fall and...

...NaNoWriMo will be starting soon! I want to make a good go of it this year. I'll write more about that as it gets closer.

For this post, I'm going to focus on my weight. I did promise you that I would let you in on my weight loss journey. I guess it's time to catch you up on what's going on in that arena of my life.

Like a lot of people in this unprecedented time, I have not been taking care of my health like I should. Many of you may be aware that I had lost 60 lbs at one point. It was a great victory but I still had a long way to go.

Well...I kinda stopped making my physical health a priority and gained some weight back. Then Covid hit and I really stopped. It didn't seem to matter much. I was always at home and I'm a t-shirt and yoga pants kind of woman so I hadn't noticed any major changes. Every now and then, I'd think about it and I'd try to get started back on losing weight but I just couldn't believe in it enough, I guess, because I'd go right back to not caring.

Then I stepped on the scale and saw a number I hadn't seen in 2 and a half years. It was the weight I was at before I lost the original 60 lbs. My reaction was somewhat surprising, though. I didn't break down and cry and I didn't berate myself for allowing this to happen. I just calmly got off the scale, located my Fitbit and inventoried the Optavia/Medifast food I had hanging out in the pantry.

September 25th was the day I got started. By that point, I was 242.4 lbs. This morning's scale read 231.9. I've lost a little over 10 lbs in 3 weeks. Taking into account that I had 2 days of not being on plan in this time period, I think I'll take this win.

What have I done? I got back on my Optavia plan. Going back on plan has gotten a lot of the sugar out of my life and made me pay more attention to the meals I'm eating when not on plan food. Also, I started walking more. Nothing strenuous, just a leisurely half-mile stroll to the park, a bit around the park and a half-mile stroll back. I usually get 2 miles or so in. Sometimes, I'll go walking with Amanda down the street in front of our house for a couple miles.  Walking adds activity, of course, but it also helps me cut down on stress and, let me tell you, work has been some stress lately.

But it's more than the weight loss. Not too long into it, I just felt better. My head is clearer and I have real energy. My clothes are starting to look just a little bit better on me. Also, I'm just a bit happier. Not "crazy party all the time" happy but just a content little happiness.

I've also set some goals. There's no time periods on them but I still think they're good goals. Those are:

• Get back to my pre-Covid weight (226)
• Get back under 200
• Get back to the weight I was when I lost the original 60 lbs (185)
• Overarching goal: Get down to 120 (where doctors tell me I should be)
• I know there should be some goals between these last 2 but I'll know more about what I want as I get closer.

The approach I'm trying to take is calm and rational this time. I know that sounds weird but it's actually helping. The mental part of all of this is the hardest fight so I'm trying to make sure that I take a step back, breathe and look at everything without beating myself up about it. 

Owning my own decisions is a big part of this as well. If I'm offered a cookie and I say yes, that's just as much my decision as saying no. It's about how I handle the decision going forward as well. I can't tell myself I'm terrible if I do say yes to a cookie and I can't wallow in misery if I say no. I just have to own it and move on. This sounds oh-so easy...but it's so very difficult.

So that's the update on my weight loss/gain. It's going to be a long journey but, as my mug says, "Even miracles take a little time."