Weekend Update & Goals

Well that certainly was a busy weekend. I started out both mornings with a lovely walk through the community with little Katie (she is a year old as of the 23^rd – she’s growing into a lovely mannered pup – well most of the time J). The first day I wore my new Shape-ups, second day only my normal running shoes. I bought the shape-ups just before my hip flared up so I hadn’t worn them much more than around the house to get used to them. On Saturday, my hip seemed to be just fine with the walk but I didn’t want to push it wearing them two days in a row. But there is nothing like a fresh brisk walk first thing in the morning to get your day going. On Saturday I spent the remainder of the day cleaning my house. After three months of camping (away most weekends) the house tends to suffer a bit so I went through it like a cyclone and re-arranged (purged) and dusted and cleaned. I decided that was enough of a workout for the day as I was on my feet for more than 10 hours almost straight. By the end of the day I was beat. I still need to do a lot more purging though – I have a small house with too much “stuff”.

Sunday, after the walk, and a bit more house cleaning, I decided to go downstairs and give my upper body a good workout. Since I haven’t started on the Chalean Extreme yet, I thought I would do a good Body-For-Life UBWO and I certainly gave it a good go. I’ve been sore for the last two days J - I like this sore. However in the middle of my workout, I started to feel very nauseous. I don’t know if this is what caused it but it may have. My daughter has one of those electronic air fresheners – the ones that squirt out something every thirty minutes or so and it was moved out of her bedroom and relocated to a book shelf in the room where I work out. Well it went off while I was working out and in full oxygen, and I got a good whiff of it. I just about lost it, and then I felt very sick for the rest of my day. It was very very strange. In fact, yesterday I did not go to work because I still felt ill and I wasn’t sure if actually had a flu bug or what. Then later in the day when I went into the basement to do something, the dumb thing went off again and I just about lost it again. It’s probably all in my mind now but it has to go. I had already moved it from my workout room and relocated it to the stairwell but I could still smell it and so she turned it off. Dumb, really dumb. J

And since I didn’t feel well for both days, Su/M, I didn’t eat too much either day and that’s not too good. But I’m trying to follow the “only eat when I’m really hungry” and not every three hours as I have been for the last who knows how long and I ate whether I was hungry or not. I just wasn’t hungry but when I did feel the twinge, I ate something so that I didn’t get into the “I’m starving” mode and eat too much. I’ve been reading or listening to several different books, websites, podcasts that all talk about intuitive type eating and not eating just cause the clock says it’s time but to start listening to my body. I’ve always been fairly intuitive to those around me, I think it’s time to pay attention to myself for a change. So that is what I’ve been practicing for the last 3 weeks. And you know what, I’ve lost about 5-6 lbs without really trying. It’s like as soon as I “LET IT GO”, I stopped stressing about “is this too many calories” and started to eat what I wanted when I wanted to (it is still within reason) and stopping when I’m full, well it just seems to be clicking. I certainly haven’t lost the weight due to any extra output with the pathetic exercising I did in the month of September. I did weigh and measure myself on Sunday for my Month check-in and I’ve lost inches as well. I know that now that I’m back into the strength training things will change again but I’m pretty sure it will all move in a positive direction.

I’m setting some small goals for this week and will follow-up next week with the results. Part of the HOT 100 day challenge….

1. I will journal all my foods (everything that enters my mouth)

2. I will note my hunger on a scale of 1-10 before and after each meal (in my journal)– this will help me determine what type of food is going to satisfy me the longest and makes me feel good J

3. I will walk 4 x this week. Even though the weather is starting to get cooler, I still want to do my 2 mile walk from my home to the train station each morning. Since I missed yesterday and today, that leaves W/Thu/Friday for the mornings and one walk on the weekend with Katie. I also plan on walking during my lunchtime but I’m not including those for this goal.

4. I will strength train 3 x this week. My week starts as of Monday (so last Sunday does not count J)

I want to be down 2 more lbs by Friday for the OFB BL weigh in so I’ve got to get my butt moving for the rest of this week.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic day and making good choices.

Sandra

Friday's Happy News

Today’s News:

Well I had good news yesterday at the DRs. She said that my osteoarthritis would not be causing the pain that I’m experiencing and likely it is just muscle/joint inflammation that seems to have affected my entire hip. Something about bursitis (I think). She suggested that I do everything I’m already doing: Icing, stretching, taking anti-inflammatory herbs (she knows I don’t like any NSAIDs) and then after the inflammation goes down, to start strengthening the hip muscles more. I think I’ve focused so much on the quads, hams and calves, I forgot about the abductors and the rest of the small supporting muscles. Time to get in with the physio terrorist and see what she can do to get me moving again. I asked about what I can do now for exercising and she said not to run (at this time) but to feel free to walk, swim, etc. Not cycling at the moment because of the hip movement. Basically if I get up in the morning and have had a good night, then it’s a green light. If I’m in pain or inflamed, it’s a red light. Kind of common sense to me. She also said that she does not see why I can’t take up running up again in the future (ah baloney on that other doctor that I saw a couple of weeks ago who said I was too big to run). So I am happy, she has faith in me, knows what I’m like, has known me for 15+ years I’m sure. She knows I’m stubborn, knows what I’ve gone through, and knows that I’m going to fight this. I already own TWO books on “Treating and Reversing Osteoarthritis Naturally” (different books, different names, same concept) and have read everything I could on the internet. I’m not only going to lose this weight, I am going to fight any degenerative crap that is going on in my body. Did you know that according to Louise Hay, hip pain is a fear of moving forward. For the last couple of years, moving forward to me meant getting older. I honestly have a “fear” of getting older because I’m finally having fun, living life, things are going my way, and I’m feeling young – I guess I wished I had this in my younger life and am not wanting to lose it. Wow that kind of sounds SAD doesn’t it. I think in the last couple of weeks, I’ve let that go too and looking forward to what my future will bring. I mean, look at ladies like Tosca Reno (mind you she is married to Robert Kennedy) and how fantastic she looks at fifty. I can do that too! Want to come along for the ride ? J

And I absolutely loved this post from Lyn about your own Power.

Exercise:

Guess If I want to look like Tosca, I had better start on that strength training J Last night I worked on my abs again and did about 15 minutes of a Turbo Jam session until I felt twinges in my lower right backside. Did not want to start anything up so I stopped and just spent time stretching.

And man I’ve slept good this week for a change – it is very nice after the previous couple of weeks. Didn’t even need my leg pillow last night – absolutely NO PAIN.

Food:

Again, food 100% today but not sure what will happen tonight or this weekend. I’ve got to be in control and will let you know how it goes. I’m not camping so I should be able to journal here both days. It’s good to know you are watching what I’m eating  along with me.

I’m down -4.6 lbs from last Friday for my OFB BL weigh-in. I know I said I wasn’t going to weigh myself but I am once a week for this challenge. And quite honestly, it made me feel good this morning and gave me a sense that I’m on the right foot forward.

p.s., I still have my headache but it’s normal for me. It is NOT as bad as yesterday so that is good. Our weather is changing so I think it will let off a bit for the next couple of days (it’s getting cooler out).

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and make good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

Thursday already.......

Today’s News:

I have a headache. Doesn’t surprise me really as it has kind of been hanging around for the last couple of days but it is a bit worse today. I’m pretty confident it is because of the cleanse day I had yesterday and I’ll soon get over it (or not). Unfortunately I get headaches often around here. My city is at 3500’ elevation and because of the altitude, I get headaches – some days are worse than others. Now if I go to Mazatlan… the headaches go away J maybe I need to move. I do not let them prevent me from doing anything though or I wouldn’t be doing anything at all if that was the case.

 

Otherwise, I feel good! I feel positive, I feel motivated (well except at work), I feel like I’m on the right path…. How about you? A couple of weeks ago, I had a terrific weekend camping, relaxing, carefree, and obviously releasing as I’ve been feeling pretty good since.  I’ve not gotten moody (even when Uncle Tom visited), no snappy comments to the BF because he didn’t do something I asked, not too much “down on myself” thoughts or comments.  There are a couple of things that could be responsible for this. One, is that I’ve been, well,  just letting go of it all. I’ve stopped stressing about the fact that I can’t run, that I’ve been drinking during the summer, that the weight-loss has halted for the last 2 months (no kidding with the beer I drank J ), that my hip decided to flare up really good and put me in extreme pain for two weeks (maybe because I know what it is now). Or two, I’ve been journaling, here and in my own little book. Oh and there is a third, I’ve read some pretty enlightening blogs lately of some very positive people and they’ve gotten me to think and to just relax. I think I’ve been stressin out too much about this weight loss thing and what does stress do to your body??? Yup, it can gain weight. So I’ve let it all go………………

 

Hot 100 Goals – I’ve got to add one more “Eat Clean”, no more processed food.

 

Exercise:

I worked on my abs last night and of course did my stretches. I’m being a very good girl with those stretches.

Today, I’m walking at lunch and tonight, stretches.

I see the DR today so will know what I can get moving with in regards to cardio. I have an older elliptical machine at home and I’m quite sure it will be good for me (other than the hip motion, but that will just improve my flexibility). I also have a Bowflex Treadclimber which is very low impact so I’m sure I need to get moving on that again.  Will let you know what she says.

And I’ve put on my Polar F11 today to track how many calories it says I burn in an entire day. I’m not sure of the accuracy of this thing but it bases it on my heart rate, age, weight, height. I sit down for my work for almost 8 hours and I am only walking once today so it should be a fairly accurate estimate of a “normal” day for me. I’ll let you know the numbers tomorrow. If I could get a bodyBugg here in  Canada, I would.

 

Food:

100% on target again today. I’m not sure how many calories I’m getting in, but I KNOW it is right as I’m not hungry (mind you I was pretty hungry when I got up this morning because of yesterday’s cleanse). Today is 2x Shakes, snacks and a 400-600 calorie lunch. I need to go buy some Pink Lady Apples … yummmmm

 

OH and have you heard, I’m now a member of the  “Divine Secrets of the Fat Fat Sisterhood”. MWHAAAAAAAAAA

 

Ttyl,

I hope everyone has a fantastic day and make good choices!!!

Sandra

 

 

Wednesday's Thank you.....

I read so many interesting and funny blogs out there and I know mine is boring. I want to thank all of my followers for actually following me. I wasn’t even aware of blog-land before February and I can’t even remember how I discovered it but I sure am glad I did. Normally I’m a very private person and this blog has really helped me develop and get some stuff out. Never before would I have posted my picture on the internet – never-mind my weight – but here I am proud and happy that folks really want to read what I have to say (as boring as it is J). What amazes me is how large this community is and how supportive and friendly everyone is. I wish I lived in the US, in one of the states/cities that another fellow blogger(s) lived in so that I could actually meet them face to face. It would be so cool to talk face to face about our trials and tribulations.

I keep adding people to my blog roll because I’m enjoying everyone’s story and I’m learning from everyone – it’s getting to the point though that I do have a hard time keeping up J I am at work you know ! Good thing I’ve got dual screens and I can multi-task to the max. I read your blogs and you have a link to someone else’s story so I go read that, and before I know it I’m following them, and so on and so on. I used to feel like a stalker…. Now I just feel like a member of a community.

Thanks for being there for me.

Today’s News:

Well don’t have a whole lot of stuff going on today. But one of the things I’m really going to start focusing on from now on is being completely positive on this life style I’ve chosen. To be easier on myself and go from there.

Exercise:

I walked yesterday at lunch time. About 30 minutes into it, my right leg/hip started to get sore so I just slowed it down. It’s the stride length that is challenging right now because the muscles are so tight and then after a while, the leg starts to ache when I’m walking. The massage terrorist did recommend a hip flexor stretch that I did throughout the day yesterday and again today. I’ve just got to add it to my load of daily stretches. If you learn anything from my blog at all it is this……I must stress it is VERY IMPORTANT to stretch…. I was dumb to ignore (more or less) this facet of my exercising life. I stretched but feebly. I’ve done some damage that may not be reversible and therefore have learned my lesson a bit too late. HOWEVER, going this day forward, I will stretch and stretch and stretch. Think I might grow an inch or two and maybe not be so short ?? J hee hee

So last night I was going to do some TJ cardio party (upper body only) but forgot what night it was and ended up watching BL instead. I’m not a TV person but I am watching this show. BF watched it with me and in his lovely criticizing way, he had a comment for absolutely everything. He cut his training session early with lovely Katie so he was home with me last night (L). So I just stretched before bed. Nothing else… I’m not so good at night.

Today I did walk to the train again and although I felt it in my hip, it did not hurt. I’m going to try to get out at lunch as it is so smokin’ hot here that it would be a shame not to. This nice weather isn’t going to last all that long and is nicer than it has been during the summer.

Food:

Since I decided to go back on my Isagenix Cleanse to help flush out my body of the inflammation and other “crap” and today is the actual cleanse day. It is going to be tough as I have not done this cleanse in over a year and I try to schedule the cleanse day to be a day when the BF is not around and I can spend the evening doing “me” stuff. Stretching, bath, early to bed kind of thing. I’ve done this cleanse before and felt great from the results. It is only one day a week that is challenging, the rest are pretty easy to follow. It’s my boost to get back on a healthy eating path after a summer of not doing so good. AND I stop drinking alcohol which is really a good thing for me. Yeah me!

I hope everyone has a fantastic day and makes excellent choices.

Sandra

Edited:

I joined in with this - The Hot 100 -- Go out with a Bang! I had no idea that there were only 100 days left in 2009. I'm going to make some changes.

Tuesday - Monday's Torture Results...

Today’s News:

I feel good today. I had a deep tissue massage yesterday – can you say torture – she should be called a Massage Terrorist not a Therapist J She dug deep from my knees to my mid back. Trying to desperately loosen those hip muscles. I think she did some good because for a short time after, I could lift my knee without pain in my groin area. Didn’t last long but it gave me a feeling of hopefulness that that is how it is supposed to feel and that there may be hope for me yet.  I walked home last night and then did a half hour session of yoga – my first one. There were some positions I didn’t get into because they were too hard on my hips but I think once I’m more flexible, I could do them without too many issues. It was a very relaxing session. It was supposed to be a cardio session but maybe because I couldn’t do the jumping lunges and a few others, I didn’t find it hard at all, but all the stretching felt good. Afterwards I rolled my butt on a Styrofoam roller but again didn’t want to do too much because I had had the massage earlier in the day and I didn’t know how my body was going to feel today. I think I did OK because today I feel good. Now my feel good still includes some stiffness and soreness but no pain – there is a difference.

 

Exercise:

Nothing yet today but will see how the day goes. I’d like to go for a nice walk at lunch because I really do miss walking. It is the one stress relief that I had come to depend on. If I couldn’t run, at least I could walk. I walked the pup on the weekend but nothing worth logging as miles. But it was just nice to walk the streets of a quiet little mountain city and breath in the fresh air. I’m on my own tonight again (BF training pup.. hunting season is here and he is raring to take her out duck hunting to test her retrieval skills), and I’m hoping to do something. I find it so hard at the end of the day to do anything because I’m tired. Morning is definitely my time to exercise.

 

Food:

I added a new supplement to my morning shake today. I’ve added aloe vera gel to my shake. It said 1-2 oz and I added 2. I think I’ll cut back to 1 as I could taste it and I’m not that found of it just yet. It wasn’t nasty or anything, I could just taste it. I’ve also added Glucosamine and Chondroitin back into my life. If you could see the handful of pills… sheesh!  Amazing thing is (and I think it is a good thing), I can take several large pills at the same time and swallow them with water. If I had to take one at a time, I’d be full of water before I even ate any food.

You all know how large the EFA pills are J

Otherwise my food is on mark.

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day and makes good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

 

Happy Monday!

In my research about inflammation I’ve come across the following articles. I find them interesting as I’m always looking for natural ways to fight something that is affecting my body.

http://www.NaturalNews.com/027066_basil_cleansing_drugs.html

http://www.NaturalNews.com/021858_aloe_vera_aloe_vera_gel_blood.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/08/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Inflammation.aspx

 

Today’s News:

Today the pain is lessened but there is still discomfort. I do not know if I should start walking yet or not. I truly want to get this lard butt up and moving but don’t want to inflame my hip again as I really really do not want to go through that pain again. I’ve got a high pain tolerance but that was pushing it. Some of my discomfort feels like it is stiffness in parts of my hip area so hence the desire to get moving and get it worked out. Oh well, another few days won’t hurt my goals and will improve my healing process.

 

I had a great time on the weekend. I got to taste shabu-shabu – a Japanese dish that was a bit salty but seemed very healthy. Then I tried some different Thai dishes which were also good. The rest of the food tastes were something I had already tried, so didn’t get into tasting everything. We sat and listened to the local musicians (some were better than others J) and watched the people. We brought the dog (Katie) and she did quite well. There were tons of people and dogs and she socialized well. We made sure we took her through them all so that she would become more at ease. There were tons of booths selling jewelry, pottery, etc. and I did a little bit of shopping. Otherwise, I ate rather well, did not drink much at all, and walked the pup.  I got sore (hips) from the 5 hour drive home but otherwise, I did OK.

 

Food:

I’m going to focus more on my calories this week as I’m really lacking in the calorie output this week (well for the last 3 weeks really), so need to watch what is going in. I’ve been trying to be more intuitive when I eat and stop when I am full but sometimes that is really hard when you eat out. If you just spent $20.00 on a meal, you DO NOT want to leave anything behind. Now I did anyway, but I felt guilty about wasting the money. I was not only  making a conscious choice to stop eating when I was full, I was also not calorie watching per se. I am trying desperately to get out of the “diet” mentality as I’m not on a diet and that this is a lifestyle choice so I was trying to focus on what I  wanted, making good healthy choices but also not caring about the caloric value. I think that while I am lame, I will watch the calories so that I don’t gain any weight. The Intuitive Eating lifestyle can wait another week.

 

Exercise:

I’m going to do my Turbo Jam this week but not the lower half of my body (no kicking as I can’t) but will really push the upperbody jabs. It really works the core and I really need to get moving in that direction. After I’ve visited the GP on Thursday and she gives me the go-ahead, I’m going to get started on the ChaLean workouts and if I can’t do the lunges just yet, well I’ll modify the moves. Squats won’t be an issue, but the lunges may be (hip flexors and all).

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and make good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

 

 

 

 

Well the Prognosis is in.....

Today’s News:

Yup, I now know what is causing the hip pain. Dr. called me yesterday (I had my x-ray’s done on Wednesday) and she said that I have a MILD case of osteoarthritis. So at least I know what it is now and I can move on. Thank goodness it is mild as I cannot imagine the pain folks go through that have a severe case of it. What I’ve felt in the last two weeks is pretty intense (on some days).

So of course I’m in Google first thing this morning trying to find everything I can about this issue and it looks like I’m already on the way to treating it the right way (sorry this could be a long post).

So what is Osteoarthritis of the Hip?

(From Merck Frosst website) Osteoarthritis is the gradual breakdown of the material, called cartilage, that covers the joint. Cartilage is a tough elastic material that acts as a shock absorber. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage becomes thinner and may even disappear in some places. When this happens, bone rubs against bone, causing pain. Under this weakened cartilage, the bone tries to regenerate and forms growths, called spurs or osteophytes. The joint may become deformed, larger, and lose its mobility. Although we still have a lot to learn about the causes of osteoarthritis of the hip, we do know that it is more common in people over the age of 45, after a joint injury caused by an accident, sports injury or physical labour, under certain hereditary conditions, or as a result of certain diseases that change the characteristics of the cartilage or the shape of the joint. The hip is a complex joint where the head of the femur, which is the thighbone, attaches to the pelvic girdle.

The symptoms appear gradually. The pain is felt in the groin and the inner part of the thigh. Sometimes it can be felt in the buttocks and the sciatic area. The pain first occurs with mobilization (movement) of the joint, and then, depending on the duration and seriousness of the osteoarthritis, it may even occur at rest or at night. There may be stiffness in the morning when you get up or after a period of inactivity. Loss of range of motion may make it difficult to walk, stand, sit, stand up, go up and down stairs, and put on your shoes and socks. You may develop a limp, and sexual relations may be painful.

This was a comment from the MayoClinic website that I truly didn’t like: Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that worsens over time. As many as a third of people with osteoarthritis will eventually experience significant disability. Joint pain and stiffness may become severe enough to make getting through the day difficult, if not impossible. Some people are no longer able to work. When joint pain is this severe, doctors typically suggest joint replacement surgery. For those who aren't able to undergo surgery, pain medications and assistive devices can make daily tasks more manageable.

I hate the fact that this may get worse. So I’m going to do my best to fix what I can to prevent the above from happening (if it is at all possible). I’m not into prescription drugs of any kind so will try to find natural solutions to help me out. Since I was starting up my personal “challenge” starting August 31st, I’ve been faithfully taking all my supplements which include Flax and Fish Oil, Primrose Oils, Duo’s 369, MSM, Calcium, Vitamins, Enzymes, and a few others (yes I have a full mitt to take before I eat). And in some of my reading these are all good things to help with the lubrication and inflammation. In the last week I’ve started the joint meds from the health store to help get the inflammation down and quite honestly I think it is working. I actually woke up last night in the middle of the night laying on my right side and almost pain free – I was quite happy about that. Today it is sore but not painful. And I used to be stupid enough to start walking again because I feel better (I always called being stubborn). But I think I’ve learned my lesson that I need to have at least 5 days of pain free before I start my impact cardio again if I can (will see what the DR says at my meeting with her next week). So once I get the inflammation under control I am going to start on the Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements (more stuff to take J ). I suspect it is going to be a trial and error, if it works, I continue with it, if it doesn’t, I try something else.

And Exercise is going to be key. Once the inflammation is down, I’ve got to get into the Pilates and Yoga – I’ve talked about it the last two weeks that it was something I needed to start to gain back my flexibility and there it is in my face in the websites I’ve reviewed this morning– it is highly recommended to add this in. And once I get the flexibility a little better, I can add the strength training back. And it looks like I should start swimming J

OK, this is long enough and I probably could keep typing so if you have made it this far, thanks for sharing in my journey.

Hope you have a fantastic day and make smart choices (and keep moving J)

Ttyl

Sandra

Need to Gain Strength

Today’s News:
I was reading this article today that had some information in it that I should probably pay more attention to.

One of the things that was apparent to me when I was learning to run was how high my heart rate would go. My running partner’s HR was always lower than mine was. She probably weighs a little less than I do but we are about the same height, I’m a full figured type (I’ve got more bone structure (and possibly more muscle mass)wide shoulders/hips, narrower waist) and she’s an Apple shape. She is also a couple of years younger but all in all we are pretty well matched. Anyway, my HR is about 10-15 beats higher than hers. One of the goals of my learning to run was to increase my endurance before my running speed because I wanted to be able to run longer with a lower HR and then once I had that stabilized, I was going to increase my speed. I’ll tell ya, I was running pretty slow and it would probably be a fast walk for most.

What the article was saying is that endurance is an important facet of performance. Two physiological factors that have the most impact on endurance are cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness. So of course the more efficient your heart is, the easier it is to pump the blood through your body with less beats. The other part is that the stronger your muscles are, the lower percentage of maximum strength is required to push you through your strides, moving you along further will less effort. So if your muscles don’t need to work so hard, then they need less and less oxygenated blood which in turn puts less demand on your heart, which in turn lowers your heart rate.

So how that affects me is that even though I have a lot of muscle so to speak, I have very weak legs and I know this. I’m pretty sure most of my weight is in my wiggly jiggly thighs. And with my hip issues, this kind of helps to explain that a bit. I’ve overworked my hips, which are now seized up, and therefore my legs are having to kick in , and they are suffering as well because they aren’t as strong as I thought they were. I may be able to do 100 squats, but I can’t do step ups very easily as it hurts my hip and I can feel the weakness in my legs. So I need to gain a ton of strength in my legs. What I’m saying is that I do need to work on my lower body strength and even though I could tell my quads were building when I was running, there’s a whole lot of other muscles I think I was neglecting and need to strengthen them. I need an entirely new workout strategy I think.

Exercise:
I was not able to walk today as I had a particularly bad night sleep last night due to the pain in my hip. It’s moved now to another part and it’s becoming a pain in the hipster. I’ve decided that I need to let it completely heal before I endeavor on any more walking trips. I’ve started a herbal anti-inflamatory with some white willow in it to help with the pain, so hopefully I will see some results in a couple of days. Once that is under-control, then I’m going to start on a regular supplement of a joint remedy to maintain maintenance and lubrication. I truly hope it all works.

Food:
So far so good this week. No booze, eating fairly good and healthy. Going away for the weekend and I know it won’t be that good. Going to a small town in the BC Rockies that has their “Taste of Fernie” weekend where all the local resturaunts make tasters for everyone. It is quite good as there are quite a few different cuisines’ there and you get to try all kinds of different stuff. There is also lots of artsy type stuff and local musicians and I’m just going to enjoy my self

And last but not least – Erin this one is for you

There is 15 of them in this picture. Does not include the 3 I have in the trailer or the two I have here at work. I have an issue.....

I hope everyone has a wonderful day..

ttyl

Sandra

Wow.. that's what it feels like to have a full night's sleep...

Today’s News:
Yup, it happened, I slept almost 97% pain free all night.  It felt so good!

I made sure that I stretched for about 20 minutes last night and really worked as much of my hip muscles as I could without causing too much pain in my muscles. The Dr says to just stretch to where you just slightly feel the discomfort but for me that means no stretching at all (yes it is that bad). So I put my stretches to a point where it was just bordering too much and left it there for a few minutes.  It seems to have worked as I was able to sleep on my left side with little to no discomfort. I did not attempt my right side (sore side) as I didn’t want to push it and I was so enjoying the painless experience.

 

I had full intentions of getting up and doing my ChaLean Burn1 day but I seemed to have slept right through my 4:00 a.m. alarm, and then again through my 4:45 version. I was sleeping pretty soundly to not wake up from either of them. I have some baseball caps hangining on my dresser mirror above my head and for some strange reason they decided to fall off at 5:30 and hit me on the head – that is what woke me up. Creepy…..   Now I could have possibly made it to work on time but I choose to walk to the train again this morning rather than take the faster bus. I feel that the walk yesterday really helped contribute to last nights good sleep. Even with the walking in the morning, what I’m trying to do is stretch a little on the train (without making it too obvious) to help me out because I go from walking straight to sitting for the next 35 minutes then I’m off the train and walking again for about 7 minutes. Then it’s 8 hours (with frequent bathroom trips) of sitting on my butt. So it is no wonder I stiffen up.

 

Exercise:

So I know in yesterday’s post I said I was going to do my ChaLean B1 day after work  but sometimes my good intentions are very easily swayed. My BF picked me up from the train and when we got home, while I was in our room changing out of the work clothes into more comfy stuff, he came into the house with a beverage. We have a full cooler of “coolers” from the weekend and he brought one in for both of us. And since the weather is so beautiful right now, we took them outside to sit on the deck and catch up on the day. After that we were both hungry, we cooked and by then I’m ready for bed, not exercising. It is has been proven to me over and over again that early morning is the best time for me to exercise. Once I get home at night (if the BF is around), it is very difficult to gather the motivation. I stretched but that is about all.

 

Food:

So today since I was late for work, my breakfast was off. When I got here, my little blender that I use to make my daily morning shake, was still dirty and in the running dishwasher. Now I know I could have taken it out and hand washed it but I thought I’d just try something different. So I had an apple and a handful of almonds. An hour later I was hungry so I had a protein bar. For me those protein bars only are for a pinch because they sometimes trigger a feeling of “hunger” in me. I don’t know if it is the sugar content or what but soon after eating them I get hungry again. Today I ignored that feeling and waited until my lunch to have anything else. Funny how your body just gets used to something. My morning shakes normally hold me off until Lunch with a feeling of satisfaction for quite a few hours. Eating something different threw me off.

And switching back to the above mention of a “cooler” after work, what I had discovered on the weekend before we left for camping was something new for me. It is this new lite beer.

https://www.millerchill.com/Default.aspx#/100-calorie-light-beer  The taste so reminded me of Mazatlan that I fell in love with it right away and I decided that until I fully commit and completely nix alcohol out of my lifestyle, then this would be my new drink of the week. It is less calories than anything else I drink and although it is still alcohol – it is better than what I normally do. And yes I realize I am making excuses to be able to continue to make this type of choice in my food intake. It is not going to help me at all in my weight loss, I know this, and I am being honest here about this.  I’m hoping by writing this down, it will stick in my face and I’ll wake up and smell the roses J

 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic day and making better choices than I am.

 

Ttyl

Sandra

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3

Public Challenges:
I love the idea of a challenge however I will join a challenge one day and then after a couple of weeks, I tend to phase it out of my focus. I don’t follow through to the end. I don’t mean I quit, I just don’t contribute as much when I see that I’m not doing as well as everyone else. I actually never stop the challenges, just never publicly answer to them after awhile. I’m not being accountable to myself or my challenge peers. About the only one that I have completed to the end was the time I did the BodyForLife in 1999 and lost 50 lbs. But even then, I started to slack off near the end. I get nonchalant about things. My focus wavers. But not any more…. And I may need your help with this one.

I am going to start the Operation Fat Busters (OFB) Biggest Loser (BL) challenges starting tomorrow which I put myself into the “Weight Lose 31-60 lbs” and the “Most Miles WALKED” challenges. Now the Walking one is going to be a bit slow starting off because of my hip issues but I was able to walk two miles this morning and the Chiro is showing me more and more stretches to do so hopefully I can be in full walking fever in a week. I’m not going to let it hold me back (short of injuring myself again). I don’t need to walk 100mi/hr, just walk… Get out there and get moving again.

Exercising:
So to help with the hip issues, I plan on doing my “Pilates for Flexibility” DVD each night before I go to bed to get a good stretch in (and relaxation) so that maybe I can start sleeping better. I’m a side sleeper and right now that is almost impossible. I keep flipping over (or rather gingerly positioning myself) to my right hip but shortly thereafter the pain wakes me up and forces me back on to my back. I’ve gotten into the habit of sleeping with a pillow between my legs but it doesn’t always help 100%. I also think after a weekend in my trailer where the bed is harder than my bed at home, I’m a bit more sore on Sunday nights because of it. I’m hoping tonight will be much better.

And I’m going to start the Burn phase of the ChaLean Extreme workouts starting tonight. She has you do a lot of compound type exercises so I may not be able to do the lunges just yet but I can do all the upper-body workouts and I can’t keep letting my physical challgenges stop me from exercising totally. The longer I put this off, the longer it will be before the weight starts moving again.

Scale versus Inches:
OK so there is that word again… “weight”. It’s not the weight I want to focus on (so why did I enter the “Weight loss 30-61lbs”???) it is the inches I want to chart the most. My clothes are starting to get snug again after I was doing so well before summer. Hmmm… summer – yup the time of drinking beer and coolers while sitting on butt in lawn chair around fire pit or at picnic table beating my opponents at a hand of crib. Can’t get much aerobic workout walking streams for fishing (unless I cross them a lot in my waders), and then with all the physical body challenges I experienced it is no wonder I just kind of fell off the wagon a bit (excuses excuses I know). So although I don’t want to focus on the weight, I am going to weigh myself each Monday morning (and report it to OFB) and I measure once a month, normally at the end of the month (on the Saturday). So I will measure again on September 27th.

Food:
I certainly know what to eat, and I know what my body likes. If I actually committed to eating right 100% of the time, I’d probably do good. I’m not perfect, not even close. But I do know what to do so I’ve got to just buckle down and get to it. I know once camping season is over I will do much better but what happens next spring when we start again? Do I get back into the drinking again and gain whatever weight I managed to lose over the winter?? I need to get control over the drinking portion of my life. I’m not addicted, at least I don’t think I am, but I like to drink when we go away. If I don’t, I get bored. I know this, and still I continue to do it. I read Tony’s blogs and read how determined he is, and how he never cheats….not once. I mean look at how much weight he has lost and in such a very short time. I’ve read other blogs where they have also been extremely successful in a very short time. I wish I had that same determination and passion… but I don’t. How do I get to the same mindset as those that have been so successful so far? Hmmm… I still have a lot to think about.

Well I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and make positive things happen.
Ttyl
Sandra

Pizza, Oh so Lovely Pizza....

I was a bad girl last night – we went out for Pizza at a place we haven’t been to since we got back from Mazatlan in May. They have such yummy pizza and if it is your birthday, the send you a coupon for a free pizza. And I wanted a Pizza so we went. :) It was nice to go as we know most of the waitresses there and it was like a home coming and all of them noticed the changes in my body and kept telling me how good I look. BF just looked at me and said “see I’ve been telling you this all along”. Me of course said “but they/you don’t see the number on the scale” so I don’t notice the changes as much.

That scale can be so demoralizing, so hard on your focus. I have let it control my own personal self impression for way too long. But it was nice to get those compliments last night and all from ladies who truly meant them and weren’t being “catty”.

Today is a weird day for me all around for several reasons. One is the date – I hate this date along with millions of Americans only my reason is purely selfish. I buried my mother on this date, 8 years ago and although I fully sympathize with all of America and the World for their loss on this date 8 years ago, mine was close to me and it totally sucked that it was the same day because for every year since, it has been a yearly reminder. Kind of selfish aren't I? If any of you have lost loves ones due to that terrible day, my thoughts are with you and I do apologize for thinking about only myself and my family during that time.

And then today of all days, my company has laid off several folks in my department and today is
their last day. We are going out for lunch (to a Pizza place of all places) and it will be kind of sad to say good-bye. However, most that are leaving feel more sorry for us that are left than about themselves. My team alone went from 13 to 5 people and the darn workload isn’t any less…. Interesting times ahead I say…..

So enough blah blah mood - I'm off camping again for the weekend and although I can't physically do much because of the state of my hip, I am planning on walking the dog and doing lots of stretches (if I can) to start the regaining flexibility process. I went to my regular Chiro yesterday and although I like the "bed side manner" of the young lady that treated me on Tues/Weds, my normal guy is much more aggressive and I actually felt some relief last night. It is short lived but it is a step forward. I think I'll have to stick with him through this until we can get my hips to release.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, make good choices and I'll catch up with you on Monday!

Ttyl
S

I can't believe...

Update:

It’s been an entire week since I last posted. I’ve been busy here at work and trying to catch up on some of the blogs out there . Going away for a long weekend really puts you behind on the reading. I’ve had some pretty good laughs this week thanks to Jack Sh*t , the boys and Fitcetera.

My week hasn’t been so good for me, my foot is healed but my hip decided to act up on Monday. I’m getting frustrated by what my body is doing to my plans. On the weekend, we were camping with friends, and although we did do some hiking, and frequent walking of the dog, there wasn’t much else for activity. We did play lots of crib at the picnic table and lots of me swinging my right leg over the bench to sit down. This is not an easy task for me as my right hip does not have any flexibility. Well starting early Monday, the darn thing started to really hurt. I was uncomfortable even sitting, couldn’t find a good position – and we were driving home so I didn’t have much of a choice.

Well that night, I could not get comfortable in bed, it just got worse and worse and worse. There was NO way I could lay on my side, even the pillow between the legs did not help this one. I couldn’t even move my leg in any direction without it hurting like h*ll. So the next morning I was limping my way around the office again only this time I couldn’t even sit for long , and I have a desk job. The first person who answered my desperate phone call was my chiropractor office but my regular dude was not in until Thursday, so I asked her to get me in with the first available DR. So at 9:00 I was in the office and the new DR adjusted me and explained to me what my body is doing (or at least what she thinks it is doing). My pelvis and surrounding muscles are very very tight, and therefore when they stiffen up like they are right now, there isn’t much range of motion. When this happens, when I have to move my legs more and they are doing more work than they are used to. This entire process causes a lot of fluid and inflammation and pressure on all my nerves (including the sciatica). Hence the aching, hurting, crappy feeling on my entire right side. She figures that as I am losing weight, my body is letting some stuff go and since I’ve had a tight hip flexor (more or less) for the “last who knows how long”, between the weight loss and the new orthotics, my body is adjusting and other muscles are having to kick in and causing all this discomfort. She figures once I get the inflammation under control and really get stretching, I will recover from this. She figures that I’ll be running again in no time (month or more still).

So I’ve been icing my lower back/hip area (even here at work) and taking a couple of anti-inflammatory pills every 4 hours to help alleviate the discomfort. This has been quite the week. Absolutely NO exercising as it is been a struggle just to walk around the floor or whatever.

Food:

My food has been good but I’ve had to make myself eat sometimes. When I experience the pain that I did this week, I feel nauseous quite a bit so not interested in food at all. My sleep has been disturbed as well so feeling a bit worn out today.

We go camping again tomorrow and I’m going to have to take it easy – no fishing the streams for me unless they are easy to get to. This is unfortunate but I really want to heal so that I can get back to at least walking again. I have not gotten on a scale since last week – YEAH ME! – so have no idea if I’ve gained any weight or not. I’m trying the “Intuitive Eating” so not caring about calories right now, just eating what I want to. This is difficult for me because a part of IE is to not look at or care about calories (no diet mentality of any kind) and it’s a real struggle. But I’m going to give it a fair chance as I find I’m less hungry these days (never mind the pain factor) and less focused on food. It’s not on my mind so often therefore the cravings are lessening. And if I do have one, it’s satisfied very quickly (a little bite versus the entire thing).

I hope everyone continues to have a fantastic week!

S

Oh My!!! It's my....

** note - this was supposed to go out last night

Well there you have it - four days in and the day ended in a disastrous diet commitment. I was doing so good too!! However it is my birthday and I decided to try something new today. I decided I would eat what my body wanted.

We went out for dinner tonight. So that meant looking at the menu and letting "me" decide what I wanted. I choose the baked potato over the rice and the striploin over the salmon. And then when it all came I had a couple of bites of the steak and a bit of the potato and all of the zucchini...

And that was it I was full! Not interested in a bite more even though it was an expensive meal. The mindset that normally would have said "OMG. I cannot waste this I MUST eat it all"......was gone.

How refreshing!

So It's my birthday and I'll eat what I want to, eat what I want to :)

--
Sent from my mobile device

It's that Co-incidence again....

Today’s News:

I was reading the May/June 09 Muscle& Fitness Hers  on the weekend (I’m trying to catch up on my magazines) and an article on Eat FAT to Fight FAT caught my eye. I have a fridge full of Flaxseed Oil, Primrose Oil caps, Udo’s 3-6-9, CLA and I am always good at starting something but never good with following through long term. But this article reminded me how important it is to take these supplements. I eat almonds everyday so I’ve pretty much gotten some type of good fat but I do know I need to supplement with more. So after checking the expiry date on all the bottles, I’ve started taking them again with my meals. This means I have a pretty big mitt full of pills I take because they couldn’t have made any of those capsules any smaller, but whatever… I’m going to try to be consistent and take them everyday.  So where does the co-incidence come in, I was just reading some more blogs I’m following and this one came up  EFA Article. So there you have it, twice in a couple of days is enough for me to remind me of something I already knew and to smarten up and finish what I start J

 

My Foot:

It is feeling much better today but still sore to walk on. I’ve been trying to walk as straight on my foot as I can because other parts of my legs are hurting because I’ve been walking funny to compensate for the pain in my foot. My calf muscle in the leg with the sore foot is getting very tight and I’ve had to stretch it frequently. It’s kind of a domino effect on my body… I just can’t seem to win.

 

Day 3:

Last night ended with no late night snacking – Yeah me!! My calorie count for dinner was a bit high after I calculated it all today but whatever. I filled a whole-wheat pita with tuna and lots of veggies and sprouts and I didn’t realize that the fresh healthy pita pocket was so many calories (it was a large one). But I’m sure in the end it was OK.

Then I did a Pilates flexibility DVD to see how it would work for me and I enjoyed it. Felt these tight muscles stretching pretty good. I’m pretty sure it is something I should do every day. I was thinking before I went to bed but am hoping it won’t wake me up too much if you know what I mean.

And today should be another good day of eating, well within the calorie range. Something I’ve noted to myself is the absence of the BF the last 3 nights (he is busy training Kate to retrieve ducks etc.  in time for hunting season) and therefore there has been no bad eating and absolutely no alcohol. I’m not saying he is a bad influence but well… maybe I am.

 

Exercise – I woke up at 4 this morning but didn’t get up. Not sure why as it really is the best time for me to exercise. The house is cool and it gets me moving for the rest of the day. All I was going to do was an exercise band session so no cardio. So since I missed it this morning, I’m doing it tonight when I get home.  Still can’t walk much faster than probably 2.5 mph with the foot so not getting any walking cardio in just yet. Hopefully by the weekend it will be better as we are going camping again.

 

Yikes – camping. I’ve got to get myself psyched about that so that I don’t drink too much or eat wrong. Got to keep the correct mojo going.

 

Hope everyone has a fantastic day.

 

S

 

 

Well It's Official...

Today’s News:

I just got back from my personal Physician (well not actually personal as she is a temporary replacement for my normal doctor) and she highly recommends that I STOP all running. That any high impact type cardio will only continue to do damage to my body. I think I actually pouted.  

 

She said “You have a lot of muscle mass and need to start working on your flexibility and lengthen your muscles”.  No more heavy weights, no more high impact cardio…. Now what do I do?   Pilates! “But I can’t do Pilates – I have no flexibility and it is almost impossible for me” …. So duh… I guess that says it all doesn’t it??  She said if I didn’t start doing that now, by the time I am 80 I will have nothing but joint problems as my muscles are really hanging on tight and not allowing my joints to do what they are supposed to do. Something about lots of calcium buildup. I need to do more research and figure out a plan. Guess my body was really telling me that this running thing was not for me – I guess it just isn’t for everyone. Bummer L And you know the comment about the muscle mass – kind of throws me because if I have so much muscle, why isn’t my metabolism out the roof and why am I fat..? (cause I’m older and drink too much beer… oh and that late night snacking has a big factor in this too).   But I also saw something today that kind of proves it a bit, I saw some before pictures in blogland of a lady who is 20 lbs lighter than I am but visually looks quite a bit larger than I do. Hence that muscle versus fat scenario where the more muscle you have the more lean you look… size of the pound I guess. People keep telling me that I have no idea how much I have lost as they visually see me, I see the scale. Maybe I should start listening eh? (ß Yup, I’m Canadian J)

 

Foot update:

And as for my foot - when I got home last night, I had a look at the bottom of my foot and there is a huge bruise in the middle of my arch – no wonder it hurts so much. Today though, it is feeling quite a bit less painful than yesterday and I can tell that I am on the road to recovery. At least I’m hoping that I can start walking again tomorrow. And since I now have to do some Pilates to strengthen and lengthen, I bought some beginner DVDs’ on my way back to the office from the Dr’s and I’ll give them a try in the mornings starting tomorrow. Once I’ve gone through all the physiotherapy that I need to start (Dr also recommended I get more help from my PT), and Active Release on my muscles (ouch), then maybe… just maybe I can pick the running cardio up again… Probably hopeful thinking.

 

So for day 3 of my Challenge:

 

I did great on the food yesterday until the late night snacking. I don’t think I had enough food for dinner and need to up that  a bit to prevent the munchies before I go to bed. I really need to just go to bed hungry and get out of the snacking mindset. So far today the food is on mark except I missed my morning snack as I forgot to bring something with me to the doctor’s. 5 hours is too long to go between meals for me and even though I have just finished lunch, I am still “feeling” hungry. H20 it is….

 

Again for exercise – none today as I’m still letting my foot heal.

 

So here goes to investigating Pilates…. Wish me luck.

 

Hope everyone has a fantastic day.

 

S