So, it's now a few weeks since my last post. Yeah, so I've wrapped up the little pitty party I threw for myself....and kept going for 2 weeks....then I threw my back out last weekend and the fun continues.
Why, oh why is it that when you finally think you head is in the right place, something "out of this world" (ie out of your control) comes along and derails you......and has a few of it's friends in the wings waiting to derail you some more?! Yeah, that's life, eh?
So, what to do about it. Well, really, is there anything I don't already know that I should actually "DO?" Um, no, I just should keep doing what I know I should be doing, and stop making excuses......that is when my back feels better. Um, why not now? Really. Eating sensibly is something I should ALWAYS be doing........
So today is going to be a better day....yes my back still hurts so much that I'm not going to venture anywhere near the gym for a few more days. But I have been doing stretching exercises every single hour in my office......and it is getting better.....slowly. I have been on three "strolls" this week....at lunch time and after work. The weather here in southwestern Ontario is absolutely incredible for March - we're in the 20s......wow! I actually dove into my summer clothes today and am wearing a skirt with bare legs and feet! (note to self - get a pedi done, stat!).
Well, enough whining........
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Hmmmmm.........food for thought, strength, and longevity
I had a very, shall we say, interesting week last week - hence the short hiatus from blogging.
I went for my audiology test and met with the surgeon......well, it would seem that I need more tests - next test is an MRI to ensure I don't have a brain tumour. Interesting how we go from "I can't hear well" to ruling out things like brain tumours? Well, it would seem that I likely have Menière's Disease - it's not a disease, more like a condition. The MRI is the help them narrow it down to Menière's, not actually them looking for a tumour - if there's no tumour, it will likely be Menière's and there will be more testing.....
Anyway, suffice it to say that I am officially a "dizzy broad" now. I've been walking around in a bit of a daze since all of this news on Tuesday afternoon - I have a definite loss of hearing in my right ear, with a full-feeling, slight tinitis (ringing), and I am slightly dizzy part of the time, okay, maybe more than I was conscious of. My body seems to have been dealing with the tinitis well, so well in fact that when the technician asked me if I had ringing in my ear(s) I had to stop and think about it - and of course now, it's all I can hear! Oh the power of suggestion. Anyway, that and the dizziness.....I have found myself dizzy on and off for a year or two - and have figured out workarounds for when it happens - I get dizzy on a treadmill if I look at the treadmill, but if I focus on the tv screens at the gym and get involved in a show, then it goes off......
I am thankful that I have not had any vertigo attacks, which I understand can be very debilitating and frequent if one is susceptible to them. Hoping I never get there.
So, anyway, this isn't a pitty party of any sort, just a statement of facts. I took a few days off and just cruised through work and what needed to be done while I let my subconscious and conscious self deal with things.......and today, being Monday, and a lovely fresh start to a new week, I'm taking this very seriously and planning.
Plan: Well, interestingly enough, and no surprise really, the healthier I am and the better shape I am in will help me deal with this and any and every other health concern/stress that life throws at me. I'm back.......and focused.......and I am going to get to my goal(s) this time.
First: Fitness - it's okay NOT to work out formally - any sort of general activity I can get going on the farm is a bonus. So thankful that spring is around the corner - We have 4.5 acres of lawn, oh, wait, no I have 6 acres of lawn now that my lovely horsie girl is no longer with us, that needs to be cut - who said it all must be cut on a ride-on mower? I have a perfectly good, old-fashioned push mower that works well too! Just add gas, check the oil and GO! And gardening - I can live out in my gardens and never quite get on top of everything - opportunity is everywhere!
Food - that's definitely what fuels this engine - if I put the "good gas and oil" in my mowers, wouldn't I do the same for myself? After yesterday's workouts, I did a great grocery shop - only the perimeter of the store (actually only the greens, fish, and dairy sections of the grocery store) and then to the green grocer's for the rest. I went home, cooked up a storm in preparation for the work week, made an amazing dinner for my love and I.
Chillin' - for me this is a bit of a lost art....I'm a work in progress here - finally making and taking time out for just me - I read a book this past month! I've taken up organizing my cross stitching again....and I'm purging my sewing area and have pulled out a project I'd like to finish in my quiting pile.
So, watch me.........I'm "ON!"
*********************************************
This week looks like this:
17DD reboot - Cycle 1, Day 1, Monday, March 5th
Monday - cardio at the gym
Tuesday - strength training (gym)
Wednesday - cardio at the gym
Thursday - strength training (gym)
Friday - cardio at the gym
Saturday - day off!
Sunday - strength training (gym)
I want to get one very SOLID week under my belt.....oh, belt, yes, I have a beautiful new wide black belt that I would love to wear sometime soon - you know, when it doesn't make me look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy cinched at the waist!
I went for my audiology test and met with the surgeon......well, it would seem that I need more tests - next test is an MRI to ensure I don't have a brain tumour. Interesting how we go from "I can't hear well" to ruling out things like brain tumours? Well, it would seem that I likely have Menière's Disease - it's not a disease, more like a condition. The MRI is the help them narrow it down to Menière's, not actually them looking for a tumour - if there's no tumour, it will likely be Menière's and there will be more testing.....
Anyway, suffice it to say that I am officially a "dizzy broad" now. I've been walking around in a bit of a daze since all of this news on Tuesday afternoon - I have a definite loss of hearing in my right ear, with a full-feeling, slight tinitis (ringing), and I am slightly dizzy part of the time, okay, maybe more than I was conscious of. My body seems to have been dealing with the tinitis well, so well in fact that when the technician asked me if I had ringing in my ear(s) I had to stop and think about it - and of course now, it's all I can hear! Oh the power of suggestion. Anyway, that and the dizziness.....I have found myself dizzy on and off for a year or two - and have figured out workarounds for when it happens - I get dizzy on a treadmill if I look at the treadmill, but if I focus on the tv screens at the gym and get involved in a show, then it goes off......
I am thankful that I have not had any vertigo attacks, which I understand can be very debilitating and frequent if one is susceptible to them. Hoping I never get there.
So, anyway, this isn't a pitty party of any sort, just a statement of facts. I took a few days off and just cruised through work and what needed to be done while I let my subconscious and conscious self deal with things.......and today, being Monday, and a lovely fresh start to a new week, I'm taking this very seriously and planning.
Plan: Well, interestingly enough, and no surprise really, the healthier I am and the better shape I am in will help me deal with this and any and every other health concern/stress that life throws at me. I'm back.......and focused.......and I am going to get to my goal(s) this time.
First: Fitness - it's okay NOT to work out formally - any sort of general activity I can get going on the farm is a bonus. So thankful that spring is around the corner - We have 4.5 acres of lawn, oh, wait, no I have 6 acres of lawn now that my lovely horsie girl is no longer with us, that needs to be cut - who said it all must be cut on a ride-on mower? I have a perfectly good, old-fashioned push mower that works well too! Just add gas, check the oil and GO! And gardening - I can live out in my gardens and never quite get on top of everything - opportunity is everywhere!
Food - that's definitely what fuels this engine - if I put the "good gas and oil" in my mowers, wouldn't I do the same for myself? After yesterday's workouts, I did a great grocery shop - only the perimeter of the store (actually only the greens, fish, and dairy sections of the grocery store) and then to the green grocer's for the rest. I went home, cooked up a storm in preparation for the work week, made an amazing dinner for my love and I.
Chillin' - for me this is a bit of a lost art....I'm a work in progress here - finally making and taking time out for just me - I read a book this past month! I've taken up organizing my cross stitching again....and I'm purging my sewing area and have pulled out a project I'd like to finish in my quiting pile.
So, watch me.........I'm "ON!"
*********************************************
This week looks like this:
17DD reboot - Cycle 1, Day 1, Monday, March 5th
Monday - cardio at the gym
Tuesday - strength training (gym)
Wednesday - cardio at the gym
Thursday - strength training (gym)
Friday - cardio at the gym
Saturday - day off!
Sunday - strength training (gym)
I want to get one very SOLID week under my belt.....oh, belt, yes, I have a beautiful new wide black belt that I would love to wear sometime soon - you know, when it doesn't make me look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy cinched at the waist!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Day 9 ...
So, I'm kind of stressed. Yeah, I know, I've mentioned it before. I have work stress, I have teenage dram-o-rama stress.....what parent of teens doesn't? Well, today, I'm going for a hearing test as I've lost a lot of the hearing in my right ear over the past 2 years - enough that if I sleep on my left side I sometimes don't hear my alarm. Alarming! After the hearing test, I'm going for a consult with the surgeon.....what I'm stressed about is what he's going to tell me. My mother and her mother (and now my younger sister possibly) all have/had profound hearing loss....inoperable hearing loss. Degenerative hearing loss....my mother has lost 80% of her hearing in one side and 70% on the other.
Workouts! I worked out 4 out of 7 days last week and went for a walk on one other day. My trainer has had me doing drop sets.....wow is all I can say - I can do THAT? Really? I never dreamed.....but I'm doing it....and I have the sore leg muscles to prove it. We've started focusing a bit more on upper body work as well.....and I'm doing my homework - abs at home!
Eating - well, I've been eating clean for 8 full days (except for the pancakes of course).....and, well, likely TMI, but I'm sure I'm not alone out there....um, my metabolism is sluggish. I've had this problem on and off for years - oh, so does my mom and my other sis (gotta love genetics?!)....so I did what my sis suggested and bought a container of Benefibre..........waiting!
Still 17DDieting
WUD
Coffee
B - 2 eggs, evoo, peppers, onions
S - yogurt and berries
L - chicken breast and roast veggies
S - yogurt
D - not sure yet
Water....gallons of it!
Today working on making it through a gazillion meetings and then off to hear/listen to what the doc has to say!
Workouts! I worked out 4 out of 7 days last week and went for a walk on one other day. My trainer has had me doing drop sets.....wow is all I can say - I can do THAT? Really? I never dreamed.....but I'm doing it....and I have the sore leg muscles to prove it. We've started focusing a bit more on upper body work as well.....and I'm doing my homework - abs at home!
Eating - well, I've been eating clean for 8 full days (except for the pancakes of course).....and, well, likely TMI, but I'm sure I'm not alone out there....um, my metabolism is sluggish. I've had this problem on and off for years - oh, so does my mom and my other sis (gotta love genetics?!)....so I did what my sis suggested and bought a container of Benefibre..........waiting!
Still 17DDieting
WUD
Coffee
B - 2 eggs, evoo, peppers, onions
S - yogurt and berries
L - chicken breast and roast veggies
S - yogurt
D - not sure yet
Water....gallons of it!
Today working on making it through a gazillion meetings and then off to hear/listen to what the doc has to say!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Day 5 - and inspired!
I just read a very inspiring blog - Heather's story can be found here. Thank you Helen for suggesting reading it!
I too have found that through starts and stops for so many years on what I originally thought was a weight-loss journey, that's really the whole package - an entire lifestyle change.
Not sure if I've ever written this before, and maybe I can find some photos sometime to share with you. I wasn't always heavy. In fact I was underweight for most of my life - until after my first daughter was born. Which meant that I spent 30+ years of my life being active, when I felt like it, eating well, again when I felt like it, because no matter what I ate or did, I was always underweight.
Reality now is that through stress of raising kids, getting divorced, working full time while balancing life on the farm with a blended family, well, I have never come first and my bad eating habits, along with slower metabolism, have won.....I am doing everything I can NOW to adapt to a new lifestyle.
Added to this, the love of my life quit smoking 13 weeks and 5 days ago.....he's been smoking since he was in his late teens and is now 51.........need I say more. He's doing well, but still struggling with cravings, horrible cravings, and is learning, himself, how to handle these.......as a team for the past week, we've both been working together to be more active and to eat healthier. So, basically, this means that this is the first time since I started WW and trying to lose weight 6 or 7 years ago that he's supporting me through his actions. We've agreed that we will be walking in the evenings when the weather allows - other days he's hitting the treadmill at home, and I'm hitting the gym.
************************************
One small frustration for me is that I've been on the 17DD for 4 days now and for some reason I've now gained .9 of a lb from where I started on Monday?! excuse me?
So, apparently, Tuesday's pancakes had a BIG impact on me.....and I'm all-the-more focused on getting back and STICKING with clean eating. Today's menu looks like this:
WUD
Coffee with half and half and .5tsp sugar (I've reduced it by half)
B - 2 eggs, evoo, tomatoes and green onions
S - yogurt
L - baked veggies with chicken meat balls
S - yogurt and berries
D - not sure yet, but likely fish with grilled veggies
Working out at the gym today after work
Minimum 12 cups of water
Official WI is Monday, so I've got plenty of time to turn this around!
Happy Friday!
I too have found that through starts and stops for so many years on what I originally thought was a weight-loss journey, that's really the whole package - an entire lifestyle change.
Not sure if I've ever written this before, and maybe I can find some photos sometime to share with you. I wasn't always heavy. In fact I was underweight for most of my life - until after my first daughter was born. Which meant that I spent 30+ years of my life being active, when I felt like it, eating well, again when I felt like it, because no matter what I ate or did, I was always underweight.
Reality now is that through stress of raising kids, getting divorced, working full time while balancing life on the farm with a blended family, well, I have never come first and my bad eating habits, along with slower metabolism, have won.....I am doing everything I can NOW to adapt to a new lifestyle.
Added to this, the love of my life quit smoking 13 weeks and 5 days ago.....he's been smoking since he was in his late teens and is now 51.........need I say more. He's doing well, but still struggling with cravings, horrible cravings, and is learning, himself, how to handle these.......as a team for the past week, we've both been working together to be more active and to eat healthier. So, basically, this means that this is the first time since I started WW and trying to lose weight 6 or 7 years ago that he's supporting me through his actions. We've agreed that we will be walking in the evenings when the weather allows - other days he's hitting the treadmill at home, and I'm hitting the gym.
************************************
One small frustration for me is that I've been on the 17DD for 4 days now and for some reason I've now gained .9 of a lb from where I started on Monday?! excuse me?
So, apparently, Tuesday's pancakes had a BIG impact on me.....and I'm all-the-more focused on getting back and STICKING with clean eating. Today's menu looks like this:
WUD
Coffee with half and half and .5tsp sugar (I've reduced it by half)
B - 2 eggs, evoo, tomatoes and green onions
S - yogurt
L - baked veggies with chicken meat balls
S - yogurt and berries
D - not sure yet, but likely fish with grilled veggies
Working out at the gym today after work
Minimum 12 cups of water
Official WI is Monday, so I've got plenty of time to turn this around!
Happy Friday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Tracker
