Category: Feeling Better Journey

Feeling Better Journey

Getting Strong: My Fitness Journey Begins

Getting strong has never been a top priority for me. As I discussed in an earlier post, I am not one for lifting weights and building muscles. With that being said, I now realize that I probably should get stronger. Especially if I want to truly enjoy several “bucket list trips” I am planning.

The Choice of Gym for Getting Strong

I spent two weeks researching every local gym/fitness center that also have facilities close to my family in Georgia. A gym with an indoor pool so I could swim laps or take aquatic exercise classes was preferable. Other wants included a sauna or steam room, access to personal trainers, a wide variety of class options, and opening early since I prefer morning workouts. After considerable research, I chose to join OneLife Fitness.

I made the call and went in to tour the facility with Nadia and discuss membership options. After touring the facility I sat down with Nadia to sign the dotted line and set up my evaluation. That’s when I met Talent, the fitness director and a personal trainer. Talent’s job is to evaluate the client, discuss their fitness needs and goals, then match them with the right personal trainer.

Evaluating What I Need for Getting Strong

Now I will admit to being out of shape and having little to no strength. So during the exercises Talent had me do during my evaluation, I let him know my muscles were calling him very ugly names. It was a laugh thru the pain or cry situation. I chose laughter. Afterwards, we sat down together and discussed my goals and nutrition. I’m sure the look on my face when he told me I needed to consume a minimum of 90 grams of protein and approximately 1400 calories a day would have made most people cringe. Talent didn’t bat an eye at the look I gave him. It was that moment when I knew I would prefer Talent to be my personal trainer and that I had made the right choice.

The Work Involved in Getting Strong

My first real work out was two days ago. Talent walked me thru several exercises for building strength. One particular exercise had me wondering why I didn’t know we had muscles in our armpits. Did you know? I thought he was kidding when he said, “now, as you bring the bar down to your thighs I want you to really squeeze those armpit muscles”. My reaction was, “We have muscles in our armpits?” Trust me when I tell you I had to actively THINK about those muscles.

By the end of the workout, my leg muscles felt wobbly. And even though I had worked my shoulders, arms, and armpit muscles, they felt ok. Two days later all the muscles I work are calling Talent some extremely ugly names. Especially my armpit muscles!

I know I made the right choice for me when it comes to my choice in gyms. Do I have a long way to go when it comes to getting strong? Absolutely! But there is plenty of time to achieve the goals Talent and I set for myself. And I know all the work and temporary pain will be worth it when I take my first “bucket list trip” in January 2027.

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Goals: Reflecting on Yearly Achievements

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of each year I set goals for the upcoming year as I reflect on the one coming to a close. The questions I ask myself are: Did I meet the goals I set for myself this year? Did I exceed the goals I set? Do I need to adjust my goals up or down for the upcoming year? I think these three questions are all I need to ask myself as I reflect and look forward. So how did 2025 go for me?

Reading Goal

I originally set my reading goal to 300 books for the year and set up a detailed spreadsheet for tracking. Not only did I meet that goal, I got there on May 25. At that point I adjusted the goal to 600 books. Where did I end up? I read/listened to 767 books. However, some of those books were omnibus volumes and if I were to add the total number of books in each of those volumes, the number goes up to 839 books. That’s a lot of reading and I enjoyed every minute. With that being said, I don’t plan on reading that much in 2026. I have other goals and plans for 2026 that will, out of necessity, mean less reading. So, I have set my reading goal for 2026 for 500 and can always adjust later if needed.

Fitness Goal(s)

I totally bombed on my fitness goal(s) for 2025. I stopped paying attention to what I was eating and I didn’t exercise near as much as I wanted to. My goal for 2026 is, simply put, to do better. With that in mind, I have set reminders to log my food on the two apps I have on my phone and I have signed up for virtual challenges. The fitness challenges designed to get people moving. You don’t have to be a runner/jogger, you just have to move. The first challenges are the One Day At A Time and Invincible 2026 challenges via Run Motivators. The second challenge is the Walk The Year challenge via Run the Edge.

For 2025, Reading and Fitness were all I set goals for. As the year progressed, I realized I  had some things I would like to do. As a result, I started this blog and have signed up for some online courses for skills I would like to improve. In 2026, I will spend more time improving skills and writing. I am not setting a specific “number” to reach, my goal is simply to get better at specific things and write more.

So far, 2026 has not started out to good. But as of today, I can honestly say I have started the journey to meeting the goals I have set for myself. Those goals will more than likely change as the year progresses, but for now I have a starting point and a end goal in sight. Do you reflect on the previous year when setting goals for a new year? How do you set your goals? And do you adjust the goals as the year progresses? Let me know!

Feeling Better Journey

How I Survived Menopause Naturally

I am not any kind of health professional. This blog post is simply about how I did a huge amount of research and found my own path through the three stages of menopause without HRTs or other medications. It is also about how I paid very close attention to my body and found the solutions that worked for me. Also, please note that I did discuss everything with my medical professional. I also talked with friends that had gone through or were going through menopause. I did not travel the menopause path alone and neither should you!

First, no two women are going to experience the three stages of menopause exactly the same. What worked for me may or may not work for you. And what works for you may or may not work for others. No two women will experience the exact same symptoms (hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, etc) in the exact same way. The very best thing you can do is pay attention and research, research, research solutions. Don’t be afraid to try something. The worse that could happen, that particular solution doesn’t work for you so you have to try something else.

My First Hot Flash

I had my very first hot flash at 45 years old. The problem was, no one ever told me that hot flashes could happen in your feet. That’s right, my feet felt like I had just stepped into a mound of red ants. While totally freaking out and trying to understand what was happening, I ran out onto the concrete balcony of my 17th floor apartment in 24 degree temps to cool my feet off. As I stood bare foot on the balcony shivering, I realized what was happening to me. That moment of understanding sent me into serious research mode regarding menopause and its many symptoms.

My Hot Flash Solution

After considerable research, I found that foods and drinks in my diet could trigger a hot flash. I also found several “hot flash relief” recipes I could make at home for instant relief. I made a peppermint essential oil and coconut oil recipe for relief and started paying very close attention to my body waiting for the next hot flash. It came 15 minutes after I had a glass of red wine with a friend. Luckily I was at home and had my homemade solution close at hand. The peppermint and coconut oil rubbed into my feet worked. Hot flash was over almost as soon as it began. I gave up red wine. My 3rd hot flash came after I had a bag of M&Ms. Once again, the homemade solution worked. I gave up M&Ms. I have never had another hot flash in the 10 years since that first one.

Insomnia and Night Sweats

While many women experience insomnia and night sweats, I did not. What I did experience was waking up earlier than usual because I couldn’t breathe easy due to my body temp being high. I did not wake up damp or drenched. Once again I dug into research on the subject, Imagine my surprise to find out that yes, some women don’t have insomnia or night sweats but do have trouble staying asleep due to high body temperatures. Was this caused by something in my diet? Was it my sleeping environment? I wasn’t sure what the trigger for this particular issue was, so all I could was experiment.

My Sleeping Hot Solution

I started with my environment. Setting the thermostat as low as my Hunny Bun could handle it helped, but it wasn’t a solution to the problem. Cooling scents via essential oils in a diffuser didn’t help because those scents are also energizing scents. Cooling tech fabrics were of no help at all. I was stuck and thought I’d surely have to ask my doctor for a drug which depressed me. Then I ran across an ad for a ChiliPad by Ooler (now SleepMe). After talking to my Hunny Bun and doing some research on it, we decided to spend the $600 and give it a try. They had a money back guarantee so what we could lose? It worked! Via the app on the phone, I can set a schedule that adjusts the temperature of the pad as I sleep. This allows me to sleep all night long and feel truly rested when I wake up.

Mood Swings

I can honestly say that I only had one major mood swing that sent my Hunny Bun running for safety. To be honest, I did not see anything in my research that helped me with avoiding mood swings except for outdoor exercise. Working out in a gym was not a good fit. Running, indoor or outside, is not a good fit for me. However, I live in one of the most walkable cities in the world. I started heading out on the Mount Vernon Trail that runs along the Potomac River daily. Walking from 3 – 10 miles a day and seeing the sun rise every morning is what I believe saved my sanity and prevented severe mood swings. I know not everyone can do that, but I do believe that just getting outside every day can’t hurt!

Conclusion

There are many symptoms of menopause and not all of us will experience all of them. I only experienced three, but you may experience more than three symptoms. We are all different, Even within families, we are all different. Both my sisters and my mom needed a little help from science. There is no shame in reaching out for help and/or advice from medical professionals. But I’m here to tell you there are natural solutions for each problem. All it takes is some research, paying attention to your body, and some trial and error. You can do this! You can make it thru menopause without ending up in a psych ward.

I have been post menopausal for five years and am in excellent physical and mental health. Paying attention to my body and continuing to research issues related to my age has made the difference. Getting out with Athena before the sun comes up for long walks, laughing at the silly things my Hunny Bun does, and playing with my grand kids all contribute to my physical and mental well being.

Have you gone through menopause? If so, what did you do to get through it? What advice would you give? Was your solution science or nature?

 

 

Feeling Better Journey

Getting Older Bites, But We Don’t Have To Let It Keep Biting!

When I was young I could do anything. Well, I thought I could. I didn’t think about nutrition and exercise and never thought I would. But then I got older and realized….bumps and bruises take longer to heal, recovery after a workout takes longer, and nutrition has a huge impact on how you feel.

I went through menopause rather early. By my 50th birthday I was officially post menopausal. Hooray! Let’s be honest with each other, having a monthly cycle is aggravating on many levels. But I’m done with that and rejoice in the fact every dang day! But with this joyous change, I needed to make some changes in my life if I was going to “feel good”.

First, it took a while for me to fully understand why my body stiffened if I sat too long. But, a friend of mine made some major changes in her nutrition. When she told me what she had changed and how she felt better, I decided I would do some research and see if the changes she made were right for me. Let me be clear, this is personal research. Neither one of us is a doctor, nurse, dietician, or any other medical personnel. After doing my research, I changed my diet. Did I do the exact same thing my friend did? Absolutely not! We are two different individuals and therefore needed to adjust our diets to our own personal needs.

Second, I was not sleeping well. It wasn’t night sweats or hot flashes (I didn’t have much of that at any stage during menopause), but I was HOT! This blew my mind since I am always cold. But at night, my body temperature would rise and I couldn’t sleep. So I researched what I could do and came across a solution I thought would work….the ChiliPad by SleepMe (formerly known as Ooler). It was a total game changer! I can literally set a schedule for the temperature that allows me to climb into a warm bed, then gradually cool down after I’ve fallen asleep to keep my body temp at a comfortable temperature, and then wake up to a gentle warming. I sleep soundly all night!

Last, I noticed I was lacking the energy I used to have. Now this was a combination of not enough quality sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise. I solved the first two issues, but I am not one to go into a gym and lift weights, take a yoga  or aerobics class, and I’m certainly not a jogger/runner. So what were my options? I live in one of the most walkable cities on the planet. I started walking. Then I got a dog and I started training/playing with the dog (training/playing with you dog(s) should most definitely be counted as exercise). And while Athena and I are out and about, we take breaks to stretch, drink more water, or maybe just sit and watch the world go by.

The end result is I feel better because I’m taking more care with my diet, sleep and exercise! My body doesn’t stiffen up quite so much, I’m getting a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep every night, and I have more energy! WooHoo!!!! I’ve shared all of this with all of you, because I will be writing about all of this more in depth as we go along. Feeling good is a never ending journey and we’re all on that journey. We may take different paths, but we’re all headed in the same direction….feeling good. Getting older may bite, but we don’t have to let it keep biting us! So, what have you done, or are thinking about doing to feel better? Let me know.