Psychology today, according to me.

Hi!
Guess what day it is?
Naw, not camel day...
It's blog day!

What should we talk about?
The world according to Val?
Again?

It's a glum, dark, rainy day here in these parts. I am so over it, and wishing for sunshine! Thank goodness for seasons. They don't last forever. Which, in the case of summer, is not really a good thing. I should have been born Polynesian. Or something.

Operation Don't Be A Wimp is limping right along. There were some successful days, and some not so much.

Do you want to hear about my calorie consumption and the details of my work outs?
I didn't think so. I wouldn't want to either.
It really hasn't been that interesting, anyway.
I know that this isn't just me...I like to have something that I am passionate about, to direct my energies. So when I am working on getting (back) into shape, that's what I think about, talk about...obsess about?
Or it might be, say, algebra.
I miss algebra. I can't even believe I am saying that. It is so hard, so frustrating, so scary...but I miss the challenge! I miss having my brain stretched, new pathways etched into it, and you know what? I not only learned some Algebra, but I learned that A.) With enough effort, I CAN learn math, and B.) I can spectacularly fail, and not die from it!! And C.) get back on that equation and factor it on out.
:D
I kind of wish that I was doing algebra right now.
Or anything really...I miss school in general. It was keeping me on my toes. Giving my brain something to do. A focus. A goal.
Now i'm plopped right back into my comfort zone, and I don't really like it here!

So I have this...ah...friend. Let's call her Vivian. She's kind of a mess. Vivian is supposed to be out walking thirty minutes a day. Seems easy enough, right? Put on her sneakers,  step out the door and walk briskly for 15 minutes, turn around and walk back home. Not rocket science. Not hard. Not intimidating. But Vivian is having a real problem with this, and the problem's name is Dog. You see, a hundred or so years ago, when Vivian was a teenager, she was out riding her bike, being all cute and stuff, and out of nowhere, a big ole Doberman starting chasing her, and actually bit her in the behind. So even though this happened SO LONG AGO, and she has not been attacked since, she has this completely irrational ridiculous phobia of big dogs, and will not go walking down the street (alone) for fear that there is some rabid mongrel waiting to attack.
How can we help Vivian?
Or is she just a hopeless case?
I think I would tell Vivian to stop making excuses, get in her car and drive 3 minutes to the walking trail where there are other people to at least call 911 if a random dog does decide to maul her.

Personally, I went on two walks this week! We were fortunate enough to have a couple of sunny warmish days, and I actually had some company, and it felt WONDERFUL to get out in the sunshine and get the ole blood pumping!
And now it's cold and rainy. And I don't have company.
I did do a T25 workout though!
First of all, it was a gigantic hassle, because our 10 or 12 year old pc crashed, so I can not longer play DVDs on it. I have about a zillion workout DVD's, but they are useless without a means to view them.
We do have a gaming system on which DVDs  can be played. However, there are these wires that have to be hooked up to a certain place, and some have to be unplugged and others plugged and it's all so confusing, so I had to have help from my teenage daughter to accomplish that. After a little grumbling and some eye rolling (one would think that the kids would be SO HAPPY to help out their mamma!) we got that done.
If you are not aware, T25 is one of the family of extreme workouts from Beachbody. Shawn T of Insanity fame is the brawn behind this workout.
I am not sure if my cardiologist would approve, but I didn't die. I don't believe that this is a long term solution for me, as it is very high impact, and my knees aren't having it. Short term, there are low impact options, if you don't mind being the pansy in the group. It was enough to get me all sweaty and my heart pumping!
I also own the Brazil Butt Lift DVD collection from Team Beachbody, and it is far more low impact than T25.
I just don't know how wonderful it would be to have a fabulous bum, while the rest of me is still all fat and squishy.
J/K, it really is a whole body program, including cardio, with emphasis on bum sculpting muscle work.

Back to my friend, Vivian...she also has a bunch of work out DVDs. The trouble she has is just picking one! She has this weird perfectionism thing going on, and can't just pick one, because what if it is not the perfect workout for her? What if the mix of cardio and strength building is not balanced enough?
Also, as part of this perfectionism, if she is not going to feel like a kick butt amazonian warrior woman with great abs, why bother? So she tends to choose the more extreme versions, burns herself out quickly, and gives up.
This woman really needs more help than we can give her, I think.
Since Vivian has a heart issue (like mine) I am advising her to just PICK ONE, heavy on the cardio, since her heart is the muscle most in need of strengthening at this time. When the heart is healthier the rest will follow, that's what i'm going to tell her.
Or, just drive 3 minutes to the walking trail (when it is not raining buckets) and WALK BRISKLY!
After all, 5k season is coming up SOON, and the color run is calling my...er, I mean her...name.

I mentioned in a previous post about how we haven't had TV until recently, and "we" (meaning the chief) decided we needed it so "we" (meaning the guys) could watch football. Until VERY VERY recently, I didn't even turn it on if the guys weren't around to watch football. But then I got deeply entrenched in a funk and wasted a lot of time watching Bones re-runs and Hallmark movies. My intention was to STOP DOING THAT, but instead I branched out,  fascinated and horrified by the other viewing choices available. I am pretty amazed by the number of "reality" shows. Although I don't know how real they actually are. Probably not very. Who would actually go on TV like that?? There has got to be some very decent financial compensation going on there.
It hasn't all just been a waste, though.
For example, i've watched a few episodes of My 600 LB Life. What I have learned from that is that I don't ever ever ever want to be 600 pounds, and if I don't get on it, it could happen! And watching some of those people make the excuses they make for being 600 pounds gave me an awareness of maybe some of my own excuses, and ew, how lame. STOP THAT, self!
Then there is the one called something like "Big women, big love", and what I learned from THAT is that, well...nothing, except the trouble these women have with their love lives and other parts of their existence has very little to do with being big.
Except, I suppose that having self esteem issues and lack of confidence might cause one to behave in certain ways and maybe not make the best choices. In fact, it could cause one to behave as if they were desperate, which is kind of sad to watch, once I get passed the initial "train wreck" reaction.
Watching Hoarders makes me super glad that I don't have that particular issue, and also makes me feel much better about my own house, and also makes me want to get rid of more stuff.
Random observation: there are a number of shows about obese people. It seems to be a point of fascination. Also, about "little people", which I don't really get.
My theory is that these kinds of shows are so prolific because it makes us feel better about ourselves to watch them.
I feel sort of ashamed for sinking so low, and what would really make me, personally, feel better about myself is to knock it off and live my own life, and make more of an effort to help empower my poor hot mess of a friend, Vivian, and maybe be a better example to her.
Also, I am feeling like I really need to catch up with Dwayne and Dixie and "Bad Dawg" Jack, those crazy rednecks in Outer Space.

And that is all for this addition of "The World According To Me".
Quackity Quack and all that...