Other than the mood and anxiety issues, things are getting better. My face has mostly cleared up, I’m sleeping a bit better, and I discovered that spicy foods are a common trigger for night sweats, so I’ve stopped eating anything spicy for dinner to see if that helps.
Since body composition is a much better indicator of overall health than weight or BMI, I splurged on a new scale that measures all that. The at-home scales aren’t as accurate as the professional ones found in some gyms and other places, but they’re much more reasonably priced (a one-time cost versus around $100 each time at the gym) and it doesn’t require me going anywhere or making an appointment.
My first time on the new scale showed me some things I already knew but also showed me a couple of measurements that made me happy (my muscle mass for example). The important thing is now I have solid numbers that I can track over time to see how the changes I’m making in my diet and exercise are affecting my body.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
The Galveston Diet by May Claire Haver, MD
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rumo by Walter Moers
Fitness After 40 by Vonda Wright, M.D.
Finished:
The Book of Nordic Self-Care by Elisabeth Carlsson
Total pages read this week: 155
Total books read: 38 of 80
TBR: -23 (Goal is -36)
I’ve gotten back into my normal daily routines, but I’ve been listening to podcasts during my commute instead of audiobooks. My page count will probably continue to be low until I get back to audiobooks.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is up several books to 1096. I finished a book but bought a few ebooks.
This week’s books:Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb – KEEP. I think this might be a good Readers Imbibing Peril book.
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – GO. I thought this book was about using checklists to improve productivity or better organize daily life, but I didn’t get that impression from the synopsis. It seems to be more of an ode to the checklist, which I am not interested in.The River Widow by Ann Howard Creel – GO. I was interested in this historical fiction novel until the last couple of sentences of the synopsis when the main character develops feelings for a man who might lead to her losing her daughter. No, thank you.
The Road Beyond Ruin by Gemma Liviero – KEEP. This historical fiction novel is set just after WWII, and that’s just different enough from the hundreds of WWII stories to interest me.
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint – KEEP. A Fantasy story all about cats?! Why have I not read this book yet?!
My want-to-read shelf is down to 1094 books. I’m sure I’ll let go of at least one book in the next post.
I’m not sure what happened, since I had continued sticking to the Belly Fat Blast challenge guidelines as much as possible, but I regained nearly all the weight I had lost. With this, my night sweats, insomnia, acne, and mood swings went through the roof. I guess that my hormone levels went haywire. My symptoms began easing up this past week, but the weight is not going down again yet. This has not done well for my overall mood, and I feel discouraged. I’m not giving up, but I am struggling.
Since I didn’t post last week, I’ve listed the totals for both weeks below.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
The Galveston Diet by May Claire Haver, MD
The Book of Nordic Self-Care by Elisabeth Carlsson
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rumo by Walter Moers
Finished:
Ethan Frome and Selected Stories by Edith Wharton
Total pages read this week: 294
Total books read: 37 of 80
TBR: -20 (Goal is -36)
My BFF and her husband were visiting this past week, and I haven’t been reading much at all. Now that they’ve headed back home, my daily life is returning to normal, including my nightly routine of reading for at least a half hour before bed.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is down several books to 1096. I finished a couple of books and got rid of a got rid of a couple as well.
This week’s books:The Tenth Island by Diana Marcum – GO. I’ve already read Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun. I don’t need another “White Woman Traveling and Finding Love” story.
Beautiful Exiles by Meg Waite Clayton – GO. I’m not interested in the love affair of two famous people. I’ve never cared about that sort of thing.Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King – GO. This is another one of those books that I don’t know how I got it or why I decided to get it. I hope it was free.
Stray by Tanya Marquardt – KEEP. Now this is a memoir I’m interested in reading. The reviews aren’t all that good, though, so it might be a dud. I’ll give it a chance.
The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker – KEEP. Yet another Historical Fiction book set during WWII. However, there’s a mention of the “Red Orchestra,” which I’ve never heard of before, so I’m interested in potentially learning about a new perspective.
My want-to-read shelf is down to 1093 books. I’ll probably let go of at least one book in the next post.
“Building the Book Fort” is a weekly post where I track my bookish life.
Currently Reading:
A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan
The Galveston Diet by May Claire Haver, MD
The Book of Nordic Self-Care by Elisabeth Carlsson
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Ethan Frome and Selected Stories by Edith Wharton
Finished:
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge
Total pages read this week: 465
Total books read: 36 of 80
TBR: -24 (Goal is -36)
I’m trying a new strategy with my TBR. In addition to reading two short books each month for the #BookSpin reading challenge, I’m also attempting to read one of the longest books on my TBR each month. I’m hoping it will quickly start to create shelf space since those longer books tend to be thicker. If I fall behind on my reading goal, I’ll stop, but I’m currently 3 books ahead.
What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?
My shelf is up several books to 1103. I finished an audiobook but bought a few ebooks this past week.
This week’s books:The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan – GO. I don’t understand what this story is about and I think it’s probably full of Magical Realism, which I can’t stand.
The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen – GO. The synopsis was easier to understand than the one for The Gray House, but I’m just not feeling it.The War of Art by Steven Pressfield – KEEP. Whoever wrote the synopsis for this book needs to learn how to edit and use paragraphs, but I’m going to assume it wasn’t the author and give this book a chance.
Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson – GO. Why do I own this book?! How did I get this book?! Did I willingly pay for this book?!
Without a Country by Ayşe Kulin – KEEP. Last week I chose to keep Kulin’s other book I own, Last Train to Istanbul. I’ll keep this one as well, in case the other book is good enough for me to want to read more by her.
My want-to-read shelf is down to 1100 books. Like this week, I’ll probably let go of more than just one book in the next post, too.
I got sick this week with a cold and have been resting as much as possible this weekend.
I’m only half a pound away from my first weight goal! I haven’t been this light in about 3 years 🙂 I had no idea that increasing fiber would help move the scale in the right direction. I’m still planning to start the full Galveston diet after the Belly Fat Blast challenge, but I will move into it a bit slower to ensure I’m still getting enough fiber.