Zma Hoops! 11/08/2023: My New Morning Ritual
Hello Again My Friends!
It's a crisp, chilly autumn day in my hood! But I'm feeling fabulous! I lost 1 pound overnight despite eating a piece of Indian fry bread with butter and blueberry preserves the night before at 10pm! It was choir practice night - I usually get home late and have tea before bed. But I don't think I ate enough during the day and by the time I got home - I was hangry!
Yesterday, however was a very fine day, I did not want to ruin it by binging at night. So I just had herbal tea before bed.
Not sure if my very good day was a coincidence, but I'm not taking any chances! I'm repeating my morning ritual today!
I started with a glass of water with lemon, celery powder and Metamucil.
Then I made a spirulina smoothie: Almond milk, spirulina, honey and cinnamon. I drank it warm. This may be the ticket! I've tried to put spirulina in my fruit smoothies in the summer, but found the taste overpowered the fruit and was hard to choke down. Drinking it warm is like a cozy tea I can sip. The taste was not unpleasant. I just have to remember to wipe the green off my lips afterwards!
Being not a morning person, I usually hit snooze multiple times and then get up and make black tea to jump start my brain. But starting with water and then my spirulina drink seems to give me a nice even boost of energy.
One morning ritual that has not changed in 70 days, in my morning hooping. Every day I feel stronger and more flexible. I only hoop for about 5 minutes. I intend to start increasing the time. My videos show a small clip, so as not to be immensely mundane.
But I seriously do not feel human until after my morning hooping. During the day, I use an app on my phone to count my steps. I usually get in 3 miles, but I'm hoping to up it to 5.
Baby steps!
In additional to hooping and walking, I try to make it to the gym 3 days a week. Sometimes more when I'm on break from teaching. Again, I only have time for short workouts, so I do circuit training with weights and then sit in the massage chair!
I'm still hoping to shed the last 30 pounds I've been carrying around for many moons. But focusing on exercise is working so much better for me than being confined to a strict diet. It feels more positive. Less depriving. I try to get a lot of fresh veggies, fruits, lean protein and grains in my day and stop eating before 9 p.m. I'm weighing myself everyday to keep myself in check. And yesterday I got brave and took my measurements. If I make any substantial progress, I might be ninja Zma and share my before and after stats.
We'll see!
I'm hoping this new regimen is sustainable. I just keep on hooping, and hoping for the best!
It sure helps my energy and mental health! Depression and anxiety hover in the shadows, waiting to devour my soul at every corner.
Wow - can you say dramatic?! 😆
In a more pleasant topic, I was on my way to teach yesterday, smiling and enjoying my walk in the sunshine, when I stopped to check messages on my phone. Then I checked how many views my video had on Tik Tok.
Then I noticed one of those filters that change your hair color. Another thing I'm focusing on at this stage in my life is acceptance. Loving me for who I am now, not who I will be when I lose weight. I've decided to let my hair dye grow out. I am a Zma after all - I have earned this grey!
I'm hoping it will come out platinum blonde like my mom's hair. She went from jet black to silver/grey, to platinum blonde beginning in her 30's. Without dye!
She gets daily compliments on her hair. It really stunning! Kind of Marilyn Monroe-ish.
So here's a picture of me, with a platinum blonde filter. I think I kind of like it! Something to look forward to with age!
The filter gave me the cat eye makeup and false eyelashes, so not sure if this is going to reflect my ultimate hair change. Here's another picture. Sorry for the blur.
Being a middle aged woman is really not as depressing as I had imagined. Our culture does worship youth, but I'm not done yet! And I actually feel better now than I did 20 years ago!
Here is my day 70 video.
Happy Thursday!
Talk to you tomorrow.
Love,
Zita aka Zma
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