Looking Ahead

Last weekend was my last big art event of the year, and my last full week off that I have booked for 2025. I have so much to be grateful for, but I am looking forward to a more normal schedule for fall and winter. Events can be so physically and mentally draining. Today the scale said 178 and while I know some of that is water weight from kind of letting anything go food-wise last week while I was off work, I really dread seeing that number getting up there again. The scale has been going the wrong direction since last summer. I am trying not to stress out about it. Its just weight after all. But it reflects struggle and less discipline than I used in the past to lose the weight in the first place. This time away from vendor events and events where I have to meet and greet or speak in public will be a great time to reflect and refocus on my long-term goals that don't have anything to do with art. Here's a recent photo of me being interviewed on stage for my sailboat street art project last weekend. I really dislike public speaking but think I did OK.

October will be here in a blink, and I have typically had great success when I do a sort of "reset" in October, to return to my keto and fasting roots, and focus on not snacking or eating junk carbs. So now that things will be less chaotic, I am going to challenge myself to stay clean all October. The one day that will be tricky is Halloween because its my absolute favorite holiday and my sons have started a tradition where we have a special meal on Halloween complete with brisket and one my all time favorite things ever, pumpkin pie. I definitely go through not wanting to cook/bake during summer and that means I compromised either taste or nutrients by choosing keto items that are less labor intensive, like using packaged keto bread. It tastes great but has more carbs than I like. My desire to experiment with new recipes returns about this time of year,so I want to challenge myself to make some new things to keep it interesting. And as far as Halloween goes, I can find a good keto recipe for Pumpkin pie or maybe even pumpkin cheesecake and my family will appreciate it just the same. I am still working out, which is a bit of a surprise to me because I am have never been super consistent with working out. I am on a 39-week streak on my Peleton app, with most of those weeks being 5 workouts a week, and a few timez when I had the week off work,I only got 3 workouts a week, but there were times at the beginning of the year when I worked out 6 or 7 days a week. I know my short 20 minute sessions are probably not preparing me for strenuous activity but it does make me hurt less overall, and that's a huge win that keeps me going back for more. I do a lot of yoga. I love how yoga makes my body feel, especially yin yoga where you hold poses for longer and it works the connective tissues. I have a yoga class that's primarily all balance poses too,and that makes me really sore after because I am so bad at balance, and I wobble so much when I do the balance stuff. I have thought about challenging myself to doing an entire month of yoga, but mix it up between stretching, balance and strength (usually that means core work) to see how it would feel. I stopped doing HIIT cardio in mid-August just because all the equipment set up and tear down at art shows was grueling and made me sore, and I didn't want to be sore from workouts on top of it. I know, that's an excuse, but it legitimately makes set up and tear down so much more challenging if you are already sore. Thankfully I have help from my husband and son. Anyway, I think it will feel good to dedicate myself to it for October to see if I can get the scale heading back down before the big food holidays come back around. If I am on a good roll before the holidays, I'll be more successful at staying on track during the holidays.