Week three. I knew things would change. Time for my report.
As a reminder, here are my goals for the eight-week challenge:
- eat more nutritious food with fewer empty calories,
- spend one day a week reading the backlog of magazines sitting on the end table (changed to read an average of five magazines each week from the backlog), and
- write at least 500 words per day for at least five days each week.
This was the week I knew would come–I stumbled. This week I stumbled on two: I didn’t get in as much walking as I had hoped, falling short three days this week; and I missed my writing goal three out of the seven days, one day short of my goal of at least five days each week.
But I still learned something.
First, I discovered that instead of having more energy on my plant-based diet, I found myself sleepy in the middle of the day several times this week. So I took naps. And that meant less time for writing and exercise. A friend, one with a solid background in nutrition, suggested it may be my diet is short on protein. She pointed out that it is necessary to eat a lot of beans to get the same level of protein I was getting before through eating meat most days. So I may cut short my goal of sticking entirely to fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes for six weeks and consider a four-week transition long enough. This should not negate my first goal; it will just temper how I manage it. It had always been my plan to add in other foods after six weeks.
Second, I concentrated more on the quality of my writing which diminished the quantity. A better goal, though harder to measure, is a balance between the two.
I know next week will be challenging. There are several events on my calendar that deserve more time.
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