December

It appears Facebook became a substitution for blogging ... but isn't really a place I want to bare my soul. 

I have not been exercising or tracking my eating .... but have thought often that I SHOULD be. I am disappointed in myself ... that I have most likely gained weight (haven't weighed in I don't know how long) 

and am out of the habit of exercising. 

I missed a couple of days of essential medication (not intentionally) ....MUST NOT do that again. Ended up in a bad place mentally and emotionally. 

Today is a new day ... it is the FIRST DAY of the rest of my life ... may I choose differently today. 

Note to self: Fight for your life, Liz. With God, all things are possible! Surrender to Him. Without Him I can do nothing. 

August 2011

I went to the fitness center on Monday and did a cardio workout ... walked on the treadmaill (ran for 1 minute, twice) and used the elipticle machine.

I haven't been to Weight Watchers since June 6th or so.

I've put on about 10 pounds, but haven't weighed myself lately.

Keeping it real. Maybe reality will cause me to want to be accountable again. I hope.

Setting the Record Straight

Jon taught us to do minimal stretching before we started walking and always take time to do all of our leg stretches after we walk. He taught us well. That's what we did, even when he wasn't with us.

On Wednesday, after our cardio workout, we found a good place to do our leg stretches. An empty room with a ballet bar on one wall and a short balance beam just the right height for us to put our heels up on. At the end of our stretching, a male staff member of the city sponsored activity center, where our fitness center is, stuck his head in the door and told us that we should stretch prior to working out, not afterward.

 I realize now, that he must have assumed that we were doing something other than "just walking" during our workout that day. However, I have to be honest and tell you that I was irritated that he tried to tell us to stretch before we walked (which is not exactly what he said -- but what I heard). After confirming my trainer's instruction with a walking/running expert, I toyed with the idea of thanking this gentleman (the next time I saw him) for his interest in our apparent ignorance but that he may not be qualified to advise others. After all, he is not a personal trainer. The Fitness Center states in their procedures and policies that the staff can instruct you on how the machines work, but that is as far as they can go. They do not and can not advise you in any other way [my paraphrase].

Barking

I asked about my heel pain. This is what I discovered:

When you walk, your body tightens up (and when you "up" your walking, even more so). Until you increase your flexibility, your body will bark at you -- usually felt in your joints -- knees, ankles, hips, etc. My right heel was doing the barking.

There's no quick way for me to gain flexibility. It will take time. Stretching after* walking is essential for me. 

In the meantime, while I am having a pain issue, I should slow down my pace and walk levelly (not at/on inclines). At home I can ice my heel if necessary, but should not ice prior to a work out, and not walk barefoot.

After today's weight machine rotation, Jon said he was giving me a three day weekend to rest my heel. He believes that I will feel much less discomfort by then. Because I am not having pain in both my feet or any other part of my legs, he doesn't think the inclines will be detrimental to me. He wants me to walk at a slower pace (I had pushed myself to walk even faster than I was supposed to on Wednesday).

He said I could go to the gym and do some cardio tomorrow, if I really wanted to, but I didn't have to. 
I might. If I do, I'll stay off the treadmill ... I could ride a bike or use an elliptical.

*remember this little tidbit of information 

What Now?

Called my workout buddy and asked how her feet were feeling. She said she was having pain in hers. Hmm ... we had a three way call with our trainer. He advised me to take an Advil and return to the shoe store with my new shoes and have my feet reassessed.

First on my list was to check with a pharmacist to see if I could take an Advil along with all the other prescribed medication I take on a daily basis. It was not advised, since I take a low dose aspirin every day. Apparently taking them together could possibly cause bleeding of my (stomach?) -- I don't remember where the bleeding would originate from. This was a slight possibility, and I would possibly be ok...but he advised me to take a Tylenol instead, as long as I didn't have any liver issues. Hmmm ... I did have a bout of renal failure, during which time I was told I could not take Tylenol again (or was it Ibuprofen?) But that's another story.

I didn't want to take a pain killer prior to returning to the shoe store. I needed to be pain sober in order to express my discomfort, so I didn't take anything.

To summarize  my experience at the shoe retailer: I was fitted in the same shoe, one half size larger which ended the toe friction.

Week One of Indoor Workouts

Monday was cardio day -- 33 minutes on the treadmill for me. I was sooooo exhausted when I got home. I was tempted to go to bed early and miss my Weight Watcher's meeting. but I didn't.
 
Tuesday we completed our nine weight machine rotation. Hmm ... not bad. Seems like this will be a breeze.

Wednesday, we three gals, met at the fitness center without our trainer, to complete our cardio workout. I was wearing my new shoes (purchased on Monday before working out), pony tail swinging behind me and feeling confident on the treadmill. We each had our personally assigned regime to follow -- increasing and decreasing speed, raising and lowering of the incline -- there was even a ceiling fan keeping us cool.

I had my music playing and had hit a good stride when the treadmill menu indicated that the incline had been disabled (how that I happened, I have no idea). That particular message was frozen across the digital display (I don't know what it's called) ... the monitor? TV screen? ha ha

I know that when my computer or phone act up and I don't know what to do, turning it off and back on seems to get me past the momentary hiccup. That's what I did ...eventually. First I thought I'd step off the treadmill, onto each side with my feet. Apparently, this should not be tried during your first few times on a treadmill. I removed one foot and almost lost my balance before I could lift off my other foot. I learned that you can STOP the treadmill from moving with your feet still on it, or better yet, you can slow it down and then step off of it. But that's another story.

I started up again and didn't encounter that problem again. Approximately half way into my regime I began to feel my NEW shoe rubbing the tops of three toes on my right foot. I continued to keep up my pace, even increase my speed faster than prescribed. I favored my right foot and tried to curl up my toes as I walked (which doesn't work). I assumed I would have blisters by the time I was finished.

Fortunately, I did not have blisters on my toes! They were sensitive, but not too much so. When I got home and took off my shoes, I felt a pain in my right heel. Yoww! Where did that come from? I couldn't walk without cringing.

Personal Trainer

What a blessing to have a personal trainer who really, truly cares about me, personally! Not only that, but he is my brother, Jon.

Jon has been gently trying to persuade me to do something about my weight and health for many years. He is and has been health conscious for most of his life. I know he was very concerned about me getting heavier and heavier through the years.

Thank you, Jon, for not giving up on me. Thank you for continuing to drop little "seeds" of concern into my brain. I am soooo thankful to have you on my support team!

By the way, Jon is a certified personal trainer now. If he can shape up his own family, he's going to be very successful!

Gym

Joined a gym today! And had our first workout with Jon! He started me out on the stationery bike and then onto the treadmill. Next he showed all of us the weight machines he would have us use (we got to try one round of reps on each). We plan to workout three or four times a week for now.

We (my mom, sister and  I) are so excited! We couldn't even begin to imagine ourselves at this place a year or more ago   : )

Catching Up ...

... on my weekend away (Women's Retreat) I made healthy choices and even LOST weight !!

... haven't made it to the 40 pounds lost goal, yet (my WW buddy did). Woo Hoo for her!!

... am refocused, with the help of my WW buddy. We are checking with each other to see if the other is TRACKING (writing down what we eat) on a daily basis. We both agreed that tracking was vital to us moving down the scale.

Walking

My personal trainer, Jon, started a walking group twice a week. We met at a local park and walked at our own pace. We walked at the park for two months (or so).

Next, Jon took us to North Mountain park to vary our walking. My WW buddy and I walk together. We each utilize two ski poles (remade by my dad) for walking and balance. He measured them to our height, cut the tips off and added rubber ends. Pretty cool! 

My WW buddy and I started out by walking 1/2 way around the road at the park. We'd go half way and then turn around and walk back. Following this path, we ventured uphill a tad bit. We'd both puff and strain to get to our turn-around place and gladly head back downhill.

For the last two weeks, we have made it ALL THE WAY around the road!! What a sense of accomplishment we celebrated at the top the first time we made it there!! Then, each time we'd walk, we HAD to go all the way around (because now we knew we could)! 

No cliff in sight

Thinking healthier today : )

Had an ecouraging and uplifting Weight Watchers meeting this evening. Scale reported I went down 1.2 pounds.
Another 2.6 pounds to lose to receive my NEXT  blue ribbon! 
I bought a box of "yummies" at the WW meeting for this weekend. I'll be retreating with a whole group of gals, and that means snackies and chocolate. I'm planning ahead to bring my own.

It's Up to Me

In a bad place today. It feels like I'm standing on the edge. I have reasons for returning to "using" food in my former ways. Reasons ... but reasons are not excuses. No matter what I did yesterday, I can choose NOT to fall today. All I have to do is to step back ... and then walk away.

To walk to the edge is not the same as jumping over the edge. No one actually FALLS over. They intentionally jump.

Whatever It Takes

My current strategy ... drink WATER constantly : ) Between meals, after meals and before I eat something. I'm also drinking a couple cups of hot herbal tea everyday. Lots of trips to the bathroom, but worth it !

I decided to focus on mangoes as my "splurge" food choice, since I am experiencing a new obsession with them : )

Definitely MUST focus on other things (intentionally) than food. Funny how a multitude of opportunities present themselves when I stop thinking about food .. some are fun (woo woo!) and others are important (not so fun) things that I have been avoiding.

2011

Today is 1-11-11, if that's not a great day to get back to blogging, I don't know what is! I'm elated to have lost 30 pounds (more if you count the ones I lost after gaining some), in 2010. I charted the ups and downs of my journey so far, which was very encouraging! Weighing out the losses and gains from Nov. 2010 through Jan. 1, 2011 ... I ended up with a gain of just 2.6 pounds !! That's incredible !!

Since I hit my one year anniversary with Weight Watchers (1-4-10), I decided to celebrate by purchasing a three month tracker for myself! Woo ! then discovered that just because I have one, doesn't make me use it on a daily basis.

Last night's weigh-in resulted in a 2 pound loss. I'm 8 pounds away from the next blue ribbon (awarded with each 10 pounds lost). That's my goal for now.

Struggling

I'm struggling with a desire to wander (or run) out of my own boundaries. I sense the need (is it REALLY a need?) to eat something without having to limit the amount. There's a restlessness inside me.

Went to the store this evening to stock up on yummy fruit and veggies. THEN ... that craving set in. I HAD to find something there that I knew I would binge on. I chose a bag of sweet potato chips seasoned with cinnamon and some fat free fig newtons. I ate the whole bag of chips and approx. 8 of the newtons. Did it calm the beast within? For a while it did. I've been practicing NOT feeling guilty after eating (which often leads to another binge), so that didn't happen.