The (micro) Me – Post Stroke
š„© Eating –
Pre-stroke I was vegetarian. Healthy eating (or so I thought). Post-stroke, I’m very low carbohydrates (almost nil), in fact virtually carnivore – eating mainly red meat, fish, and eggs.
ā³ Fasting –
I don’t eat before 2 pm or after 8 pm. It’s a six-hour eating window. For eighteen hours I fast – just water & coffee.
ā Coffee –
Wherever I go my French press follows. Strong black coffee is the order of the day. Lots of it. From when I rise to about 2 pm. Then just water, when needed.
šļøāāļø Exercise –
I finally understand the importance of exercise, or to be more specific – strength training.
My weekly schedule consists of:-
- Tai Chi ā for balance, co-ordination, leg strength.
- Resistance bands ā Overall body strength & flexibility.
- Walking ā stamina, cognitive conditioning.
- Qigong + standing meditation & mindfulness ā Cognitive therapy.
š¬ Smoking –
I don’t smoke. I used to. I couldn’t function without inhaling on a hand-rolled Golden Virginia. My last one was 8.30 am on the 23rd of August 2018.
Life is easier now it’s gone. But I do miss it. If I get the opportunity, when my time’s up, I’ll have just one more.
šŗ Alcohol –
I’m as good as teetotal. I do drink. But I used to drink heavily. Today it’s an occasional red wine, a gin & tonic now and then and maybe a bottle of beer on holiday.
My annual consumption now would be a weekend back in the day. I consider myself teetotal.
š· Work –
I’m not sure being the only man working alongside twenty-four+ women can be classed as work but as the caretaker for two nursery schools and 60+ children, that’s my job. I love it and wouldn’t swap it for anything.
šØ Hobbies –
My passion is locking myself away in “Grandad’s Shed” – affectionately named by my granddaughter – and making things out of wood. Often that includes items for nursery schools, other times its things for the home.
I also enjoy building websites (like this one). I often think I should do it for a living. It’s being desk-bound that puts me off. But we’ll see. You never know.
šŗ Entertainment –
I loathe the TV or the garbage that’s on it. I catch a film now & again and sometimes I tune into a drama series (House is a fav, Peaky Blinders is brilliant) but that’s usually it.
Reading is my ‘go to’ escapism – non-fiction Kindle primed.
I was late to the Peaky Blinders party – 5 years late to be precise. It’s an awesome ‘must-see’ drama .
Me in three words
berecalcitrant
having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline.
dominimalist
belonging or relating to a style in art, design, and theatre that uses the smallest range of materials and colours possible, and only very simple shapes or forms.
gocarnivore
feed predominantly on other animals.
Want More?
I have a list of tools I use, a page dedicated to my favourite articles by other writers, and one for what Iām working on right now.