“Unaccomplished” Sunday and November research plan on ageing

This weekend really went by too fast! Usually by Sunday evening, I feel I got enough rest and relax to start the week, but this Sunday I was mildly depressed that weekend was gone and I felt I didn’t have enough down time. Well… still post-vacation syndrome I guess.

We started the day with a run, I did a bit over 10 miles in total (longer than planned but it felt good).

the run left me with mild headache in the morning. Sometimes it happens when I’m either not drinking enough or too much heat. I took a bath but had to get out as I was very hungry. I made another avocado toast with a new loaf of sourdough. I’m still trying out the effect of gluten on my GI

the rest of the morning was mmmm……. dunno know… I did doodle for my November journal cover

then we had lunch… 4 vegetables dishes and one with egg. Felt very full and had to take a nap while Sofia did mandarin homework, husband helped her to use chinese dictionary, and Lizzy also took her nap. When I woke up, Sofia had her piano theory lesson and I started a new book. This one is about motherhood, something that from time to time I need a reminder that there’s not the right or perfect way to be a mother. It is a process for both the parents and the kids as we go through different stages of life (both parts). We are human, we all make mistakes, so we need to practice compassion, always show love, and be mindful that we are just one important determinant of their life path. It’s a lovely read.

After dinner, Sofia did more homework (math this time). It took me 1 min to explain to her how to do division. She got it immediately and did 3 pages of division without much problem.

then it was family reading time with cheerios as snack on my yoga mats.

Ageing.

First let me explain what triggered me to want to study this subject. I’m turning 40 in one month and 16 days. 40 always sounded so remote to me but now it’s here. While age is just a number and I’m not obsessed with it, it still shocks me that I’m turning 40.

When we were in Boracay, I met a women from Argentina (I practically grew up there) with two kids, one of them was probably 16 years old, full grown women. She was so well maintained, if you know what I mean, fit and put together every time I saw her. She was using bikini on the beach and very confident with her body. Of course, no matter how one takes care oneself and workout, there are signs of ageing that are inevitable and I could see them. That moment, something clicked on me, a mixed of emotions/thoughts.

Am I taking enough care of me to be my best at every age?

Am I afraid of getting old? Especially the physical appearance part?

My conflict was about whether I want/should care about physical appearance that comes with ageing. The rational me says that I shouldn’t, as it’s part of natural progression, and that I should focus on inner wellbeing. The emotional me says appearance is a reflection of one inner life, and that looking good would brings me joy.

Then I watched goop ageing episode and made me realise the connection between inner wellbeing (physical and mental health) is reflected in outside physical appearance, and that I don’t need to choose one or the other. Women featured in the episodes tried different anti-ageing methods for a month or 5 days, and their biological clock reversed a bit. WOOOO!

The fact I was at conflict of whether I should care or not about ageing, it means I care, then I should embrace it and be proactive. So, my research project for November was decided 🙂

that is probably a lot of background… hahaha…. so here’s my plan. I’ll study ageing in three part:

1. Diet: what’s the best anti-ageing diet for me. Diet is a very personalised choice and i want to try something that I know I can sustain. I can never do keto for example as I know I thrive in good carbs. I’ve order several books on this topics, can’t wait for them to arrive.
2. Lifestyle: there are many things that we can do to improve our lifespan (sleep, exercise, fasting, cold water, meditation, etc), according to this book that I read a while ago, I will revisit and expand my research.
3. Skincare: I’ve been in low maintenance on skincare for over 2 years (July 2018 was my last big skincare purchase). I am sure I can improve to a reasonable degree (no botox for me yet). I’ve ordered this book to systematically learn about it as I find different articles and youtube videos give me bites and pieces, and I need a big picture.

I am super excited about this project! Will start sharing few things I’m trying:

• Food combining
• Celery juice
• My new skincare routine (once I receive all the products I ordered)
• New workout routine that I started in  Boracay (Melissa Wood Health)