Positively Weightless: March 2020

Here we are week two of working from home and self-isolating. I like everyone else is staying at home except for the occasional trip to the grocery store to avoid this crazy virus that has completely overtaken our world. But I do not want to talk about the virus or the craziness that has come along with it. As promised, this week I want to keep things a bit lighter and more positive. A place to escape everything that is going on. What I can do is take our current situation and use my love of writing to try and help anyone out there that may have stumbled onto my page here.

So if you are stuck at home with little to do (Which you very well should be! For goodness sake stay home people!) I have a few ideas to offer you for ways that can occupy your time. A really big one I want to mention is cooking. I personally have a pretty decent amount of skill when it comes to cooking and being in the kitchen. No, I am not going to be on the food network any time soon of course, but I am able to make decent meals for myself and my family. So maybe you do not have much skill in the kitchen but would like to learn. Why not use this extra free time to do so? I understand that a lot of places have sparse shelves at the grocery store, and you may not be able to get any fancy ingredients. A lot of simple recipes can be made from things you likely already have in your house. Gnocchi, for example, is typically made from potato, flour, egg, and a little salt. You could find a simple recipe online and make it for yourself as a nice dinner as a treat. Baking is another great example. Find a simple biscuit or sugar cookie recipe online and go from there. I personally have been trying a bunch of bread machine recipes (which, I suppose is cheating to an extent). A lack of ingredients shouldn't hold you back. You have to cook and feed yourself through this already right? Why not take some time to invest on a skill you will use for the rest of your life.

Another big example is working on an art you enjoy. I get it this is not everyone's cup of tea. I love to write and read, and I even paint and draw from time to time. I make a conscious effort to write daily if possible of course seeing as I have this very page, so I do realize that not everyone has that love in the same way I do. Maybe you have always wanted to write some more but never made the time. Well, you are out of excuses right now. We all have more time than we know what to do with right now. If you love poetry, go ahead and write a poem. No one needs to read it but you unless you choose to share it. One of the beautiful things about poetry is that there really are no rules if you don't want to stick to a specific form. You may surprise yourself. I joined a poetry website just for fun, having never really written a poem in my life, a year ago yesterday and here I am today published in two different books now, one of which I finally have in my hands (pictured) and it feels amazing. You just may find out that you have a real talent for something once you apply yourself. If you want to paint, if you have the supplies to do so, just do it! Start with something abstract where you just play around with colors and you end up with something like a Jackson Pollock painting. If you have a book you have been meaning to get around to right now read it! You currently have no excuses!

I think one of the most important things we also can and should remember to do right now is to spend time with our loved ones. I think one main lesson this virus is teaching us is just how fragile, unpredictable, and short life is. We never truly know how much time we have with each of the special people in our lives we have left. Now please do not misunderstand me here. You very much still need to be staying at home and keeping your distance from others, so we can stop the spread of this virus. You should be staying just in your homes and not visiting with anyone. That is the beauty of the world we are living in right now. You can email, call, facetime, skype, etc. with your loved ones that are not in the same home as you. I have facetimed with my sister more times in the past two weeks than we ever had before. If you are lucky enough to have people around you in your homes then spend some time with them. Have family dinner, take a coffee break together if you are working from home, play a board game, watch a movie together. There is a pretty endless list of what you can do together. I am grateful to be able to spend some extra time with our family pup Tobie as he is getting older and likely won't be with us much longer. As annoying as he can be I am still happy I can be with him right now. You were given this time together for a reason, so embrace it!

Alright now that I have given you a number of ways to busy yourself there really is no reason that you need to leave the house right? I know I sound like a broken record... just ask my sister who I give this lecture to every day it seems like. To anyone acting selfishly during this time please just realize that the sooner we work together, the sooner we can get back to living a normal life. I get it I am bored too! Even with activities and such I mentioned we are all going to get bored. But this is all for a really good reason so keep your butts inside! Use this time, as I have been saying, to work on a new skill or hobby. Maybe you will leave this self-isolation being able to cook a 4-course meal for your extended family once we can gather again. Maybe you will also become a published poet. I plan on finally finishing Paradise Lost in the coming weeks as well as writing some more poems. Heck I couldn't sleep last night so I wrote a Tanka poem about a childhood memory I was thinking about. Spend some time on yourself and in turn you will be ensuring not only your health, but the health of many others around you. Stay safe and healthy readers!

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I think the world can use a whole lot of positivity right now. Like many others I started working from home this week because of COVID-19. So far the transition has gone overall pretty smoothly. I moved what I could home and am working as normally as possible from my little desk in my bedroom. Which means I am currently typing this blog in my bed because my desk space has become occupied. No biggie though and being covered in my weighted blanket is an extra plus! So if you are like me, your routine was flipped upside down in the last week or so. So what should we do in this case? I know it is hard to keep positive right now. I myself have been doing my fair share of worrying and overthinking, but that just means we need to be positive more now than we ever have before. So if you are practicing social distancing right now, you came to the right post.

So I figured I would share how my week went and the emotions I have been feeling. Things escalated pretty quickly for me this week. I went from receiving a work email on Sunday saying our office would remain open to packing up my things and leaving mid-day Tuesday to start working from home indefinitely. I am sure I am not alone in saying my emotions have been all over the place. My bedroom looks like a tornado went through because I had to take everything out of my desk and make room for my work station. The grocery stores are better, but certain items are still in scarce supply as well as the feeling of uncertainty that lingers in the air because of this virus being in the area. Overall things just feel heavy right now. I am sure many can relate to the annoyance of your routine being flipped upside down. I went from having a steady gym schedule, social life, work life, etc. to being able to do nothing. Do not mistake my words though, I 100% am behind all of the measures that are in place right now. That doesn't mean being unable to continue on with my everyday life isn't something that is effecting me.

If you are in a similar place to me then let me offer a little advice in this post. As I said I think remaining positive is what we all need right now. So if you are like me and have had your routine completely flipped upside down I want to offer you as much positive advice as possible. If you are like me you most likely spent your first couple of days working from home doing things you might not be doing at work. Now I don't mean anything crazy by this (if you were thinking something naughty get your mind out of the gutter 😉) what I do mean if working in your pajamas, not showering or brushing your teeth until later in the day, having extra snacks throughout the day, etc. It is so easy to do these things and I cannot promise I wont from time to time but I think it will be in your best interest to limit these things. Get up and dressed like you normally would for work. I am not saying dress up in a suit or dress like you would for an office job, go ahead and put on a t-shirt and yoga pants, but just make sure you change out of your pajamas (and ladies I am looking at you, put on a bra). Maybe instead of sleeping in too late you can wake up with enough time to enjoy your coffee and a nice breakfast. Just make a conscious effort to keep as much normalcy in your life during this situation that is anything but normal.

There are plenty of other ways to at least attempt to keep up with your normal routine. If your gyms are closed like they are around here do your best to still keep up with a workout routine. I am lucky enough to still have a personal trainer right now who contacted me and is going to be sending me 2-3 at home workouts a week. On the other days I can always take a walk (as long as the weather permits and I am staying away from other people of course) do some yoga or plenty of other ways to stay active. Will I be able to leg press 430 lbs again right when I am able to get back to the gym? Most likely no, but that doesn't mean I have to lose too much progress in between. There are plenty of apps that are offering specials right now for people stuck at home as well. I know the Peloton app is free for 90 days right now. If you are a member of a gym, I know most of them have online workouts available to members as well. If you want to stay active during this time, you will. Being stuck at home is not an excuse. The same (mostly) goes for your diet. Now I will admit I am a stress eater, so I didn't make the best choices this week. I look forward to changing that this week, though. Will I be able to meal prep the way I usually do? No, not really because of the limited amount of food in the stores but I can do my best with what I have. Make do with what you can right now. That is the most important thing!

We are living in an uncertain time. Just a few weeks ago I planned my first road trip with my friends and now we are not sure how things are going to be when we are booked to go. I have no idea when I will be able to go back to the office, see my friends, go to the gym, eat at a restaurant, etc. but I personally think this is all necessary and for the greater good. Just because all of this is going on does not mean you need to completely give up every ounce of normalcy in your life. Make do with what you have. We have to keep living. We have to, more importantly, do our part to flatten the curve with this virus. We need to stay at our homes. We need to think about others, especially those that are in my generation and younger who do not seem to be taking this seriously at all. If not for yourself, for the ones, you love that are in that high risk category. The sooner we do something about it, the sooner we can get back to our lives as we knew them just a few weeks ago. To all the people that are considered essential employees, my very own father included, I just want to say THANK YOU! You are all out there continuing your jobs in this madness while many of us are hiding at home. Thank you for providing the essential services we all need to survive. Show your appreciation for all of them by staying home unless absolutely necessary.

On just a final note, I want to make this my last post that has a heavy mention of this virus. I may write posts in the coming weeks about my experience social distancing/offering advice on workouts or meals, etc. but other than a brief mention I want to keep my page as a place to escape it. Take care and stay healthy everyone!

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This week's post is going to be pretty different than you are probably used to when you come to this page. Any readers that are coming back may be surprised. If you stumbled onto my page today for the first time just know that I usually have a much lighter approach to my writing every week. Typically I like to make this page a place to escape from the real world. I like to write about personal experiences and teach a positive lesson and throughout the entire post I usually have a fairly positive and almost cheery way of talking about things. I will not be doing that today. I have witnessed a lot of craziness this past week and quite frankly I need a place to write down my thoughts. Hopefully by the end of this post I can encourage a little positivity during this crazy time right now.

It is no secret that the world is a very crazy place right now. I am not going to go all into details about the coronavirus. You basically cannot go twenty minutes without hearing about it these days so I will save that information for the news sites to share with you and keep you well informed. What I can talk about is fear. I would be lying if I said I wasn't fearful to be alive during this pandemic. In a sense it is fear of the unknown. Will I get the virus? More importantly will my parents that are technically considered elderly (sorry Mom and Dad I know you don't want to admit it but you are 😉) going to get it and what will that mean? One of the other larger concerns of mine is if we will have enough food to get through a quarantine if need be. The thing I am most fearful of is what fear has done to people.

Now I know this is going on to different extents all over the world right now so I don't need to describe it much, but to give a small recap of my week. I stopped for some extra toilet paper on Tuesday which was lucky because it was cleared from the shelves by Wednesday. On Thursday I stopped at the grocery store by work only to find the shelves nearly empty. I went to grabbed some canned foods and such for my parents and I just so we had some food in the house. Not an excessive amount by any means. The pasta was almost cleaned out. Any affordable brand of pasta sauce was cleared out except for the store brand that I was able to reach way at the top of the shelf only because I am 5'10 and was wearing my boots with a slight heel on them. Canned fruits, canned vegetables, bread, rice, beans, etc. all had next to nothing on the shelves. I had to buy peanut butter off of Amazon because the stores had none. It quite literally felt like I was walking in a scene of a move. By Friday I received a text around lunchtime from my boss's wife who was basically in tears because the store was next to empty and she needed food to feed her three kids that will likely not have school during the coming weeks. She was able to go to a different store and get some food, and was even kind enough to call and grab anything I might still need because the shelves were emptying fast.

This madness seems unreal honestly, but all it does is anger me. The store shelves wouldn't look the way they do if people were only buying for their needs. The entire country should not be panic buying anything. Think of all the underprivileged families, elderly people, people who are working 3 jobs and haven't been able to go to the grocery store all week. Think about the ones who have half the amount of food in their house because by the time they could get to a store everything was gone. I beg every single one of you reading this to think about SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF! Fear is making people do some crazy things right now. Fear has overtaken so many of us. Fear is the route to all of these issues. I am not saying you are not justified in being fearful of what is going on right now. We are all scared no matter what some of us are saying. But that is not an excuse to disregard the needs of other people. The "every person for themself" mentality is causing what I can only describe as hysteria right now and it has to stop. Be prepared, be safe, be smart, but most importantly DO NOT be selfish in this time that is so uncertain for all of us.

So to end this on a positive note what can we do to help during this time? For starters stop hoarding more than you and your family need. If you have more supplies than you would need for a few weeks to a month check in with your extended family or even your neighbors. Be courteous of those around you. By that I mean, as all officials are saying right now, to stay home whenever possible. You do not need to be out at a bar or casually shopping in a crowded store right now. Wash your hands. If you see an elderly person amongst the panic in public help them out. Wash your hands. Be kind to the retail workers that are cashing out your groceries not only being exposed to all of the people out shopping, but being verbally abused but many of them as well. Trust me they do not get paid enough for that. WASH YOUR FREAKING HANDS! The fact that this even needs to be said as much as it has been still absolutely infuriates me, but that is a topic for another day. What is going on right now is something we are all in together. No age, race, gender, sexuality etc. is excluded from this equation. So instead of letting fear overtake our common sense lets come together to keep everyone safe, healthy, and comfortable in the event that they are stuck at home for a while. I want you all to stay safe and happy (as happy as possible) during this crazy time we are living through right now!

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I have done my fair share of worrying in my life. Back when I was a teenager I found it all too easy to think about the what ifs, all the obstacles that the future may hold, every little test or project coming up in school. I was just talking about this with my personal trainer at my last session actually. How I really don't know how I managed to get through high school without getting a stomach ulcer from the way I used to stress out over things. I have to say I am pretty glad I broke out of that cycle. Today I want to talk to you about why you should stop worrying and just let yourself be happy.

Take a moment and think about what kinds of things make you worry. Maybe you are in school and an upcoming test or presentation is making you nervous. That was a pretty big one for me. Maybe you are behind at work and nervous about what your boss may say to you about it. Maybe a big change is coming up in your life such as a wedding, new baby, purchasing a new home, etc. I try not to get too into current events on my page here (as I like it to be an escape from all of that) but maybe you are somewhat freaking out about this virus that is spreading and covered all over the news. I can say the lack of hand sanitizer anywhere is showing just how worried some people are about that. It is human nature to worry in general, but what good does worrying actually do?

Most of the things we worry about are all things that are mainly out of our control. We very well may be exposed to this virus, that test we are worried about is very much going to still happen whether we want to take it or not, a new baby is not going to stay in the womb because their parents are nervous about their arrival. We can never stop these things, but we surely can do our best to prepare. All of the websites and articles are telling people to wash their hands, wipe down surfaces, and to not touch your face. All things we should already be doing, but it is smart to take extra care in these things to prevent ourselves from getting the virus. If a test is coming up then study as much as possible so you are fully prepared. Make sure you have all the supplies needed for when that new baby arrives. Of course with that example, nothing is going to fully prepare you to have a new baby at home, but you will learn as you go. When worry sets in the best possible chance you can give yourself is to prepare!

I think a lot of us are guilty of worrying about the past as well. I would say every single one of you reading this post has worried about something in the past. Maybe your life isn't quite where you thought it would be at this point, honestly who's life truly is 100% what they wanted it to be? I would think it would be safe to say no one. Instead of worrying about the past, which cannot be changed, look to the future. Beating yourself up about the fact that you do not have the dream job you always wanted, you are single and were hoping to be married by your age, anything you thought would be different at this point in your life, is going to do nothing but keep you miserable. Instead, I would think of one thing you have planned for the future you are looking forward to. Maybe a road trip with your friends (I'm looking at you Kristin and Gina.) , maybe you are studying to embark on a new career path, maybe you are moving somewhere entirely different than where you are used to, or even a much smaller change such as a new haircut. Focus on the positives in your life and coming into you life rather than worrying about the things you cannot change.

So what does worrying do for us? Absolutely nothing. No matter what you believe in, I think it is safe to say that life is going to happen no matter how much stress you put yourself under. I personally believe that we do have our fates laid out in front of us as a road to walk along, however, I truly believe that road is not a straight single line. We come across new paths, forks in the road, bumps in the road, and many opportunities where our path meets someone else's along the way. Sometimes the strangers we meet along the way come with us, sometimes we leave them behind. Sometimes we trip over a crack in the road, other times a thick fog sets in causing us to stop progressing. The most important thing to remember is not to worry about that. If we leave someone behind on our path, it just means they were not meant to continue walking with us. If the fog sets in, it only means we can rest until it lifts and we can continue on again. Never worry about the fog. Never worry about the ones we leave behind. Look forward, press on, and be happy.

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Consistency is key. I know, I am starting out this week's post with yet another cliché here. What can I say, I love using them! I wanted to go in a bit of a different direction this week. Usually, I like to talk about topics that are very much a part of my everyday life. Whether I am talking about my current diet and exercise regimen, how I am staying positive in my life, or just life in general. While today's post does stick to that theme in a sense, I am going to talk today about something I continue to struggle with. I mention one of my struggles in hope to trigger somewhat of a domino effect. Opening up a discussion for others that can relate to compare notes. The topic I am leading into here is consistency.

Any big task in life requires a good amount of consistency. Losing weight is a huge one. Becoming good at any craft is another. Really any big project in your life is going to require you to consistently keep working toward your end goal to see real results. I will break down the parts of my life I personally see consistency is required. One example I am doing fairly well in, one I am pretty good, and another that needs work. Let's start with the example I am doing well in and I think that is my writing. I will be the first to say that we are never truly perfect in really anything that we do. But improvement is the closest thing to perfect. I will soon have poems published in not one, but two books. Considering I only about a year ago started writing poetry I am pretty proud of that. I also slowly keep growing my page here as well. I will never be a perfect writer, but my consistent practice has proven to be paying off.

Let's talk about my example that is right in the middle. That would be exercise. In a bunch of ways, I have been doing great with exercising and consistency has been pretty much good. I still (with the exception of having the flu and when the weather gets bad) make sure I get my 3 days a week of weight training. Because of that consistency with my weight training I actually hit two PRs this week. The first being 430 lbs on the leg press, and just yesterday I back squatted with 140 lbs. I remember doing the leg press and putting 90 lbs on the machine was a huge challenge so that is proof that consistency has helped. Where I lack is cardio. I find myself finding excuses to avoid doing cardio. I know is it also essential to do for a healthy balanced lifestyle but I honestly just get so bored with it. The fact that I am aware of that is a good step though, and I can work on improving it. In a lot of ways, I have a great exercise routine going but I am also aware of where consistency is lacking.

The last example I want to give you today is one where I know consistency is lacking a bit more. I am sure if you follow my page here you can already guess it is with my diet. Now I am not saying my diet is completely inconsistent at all. I do my weekly meal prepping still In a lot of ways, I have a great exercise routine going but I am also aware of where consistency is lacking.seriously if you haven't invested in one of those you should), I plan my meals out and do my grocery shopping on Fridays. I do my best to make sure I have healthy snack options at work for when I am peckish and in need of a snack before the gym. My main issue is the weekends. Typically when I grocery shop for the week ahead I get myself a little treat. It's never anything extreme. Maybe a cookie from the bakery or something along those lines. I really see no problem with that. But little snacks like that add up. Usually, over the weekends I am overall just less conscious of what I am eating. I am very much aware of this, though, and working on it. I do have some consistency in this area, but I am very much aware it needs work!

So overall why is consistency important? Well, if you have a goal, you are trying to reach it is important to keep doing the things you need to do to reach that goal. If you have a craft that you are working to perfect, like writing for myself, then you are never going to improve if you are just practicing here and there. If you want to gain muscle and lower your BMI then only occasionally working out is most likely not going to give you the results you want. If you are just looking to lose weight, then having extra snacks is certainly not going to lead that goal. Consistency does not need to be adapted into your life overnight either. Cut out snacks here and there rather than completely or you may set yourself up for a serious setback. Slowly add gym days to your schedule rather than burning yourself out taking on 5 days right away. Agree to write a little every other day and then slowly add on to that. No matter what the degree of consistency you are practicing, you are still consistently working toward your goals!

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