RESULTS!!!

I LOST 2 LBS!!!!!! :) :) :) :) I am at 258! It's a start! A pretty good start! Feelin' good!

carrrrrrrrrrrrdio!

30 minutes on the treadmill doing interval cardio. So with 10 minutes for warm up/cool down, about 20 minutes. With the Zune in my ears on shuffle, it wasn't too bad. I may try for 40 minutes tomorrow. Which would be about 40 minutes of active cardio. I'm glad I did it though. I was sittin' here chillin' and chillin' some more... feeling a little bit uneasy, but not motivated enough to get up, but I put on my headphones and hit shuffle and the songs my player kicked out got me off my butt!

Nothing else to report, really.... just blogging today's exercise. I am hoping I can earn my way into a heart monitor/calorie counter watch. I am still not sure if I'm hitting or exceeding my target heart rates. I tried using the one on the treadmill, but I don't think it's even close to accurate. Workin' on it! Now just gotta watch what I eat for the rest of the day, hopefully my metabolism is waking up now!

Back to work

I ended up taking 3 days off between workouts. Hit a wall, I guess? Yesterday I was kind of angry with myself for not doing a workout. I am still watching my food intake, and I haven't been snacking nearly as much. So even without working out, I've still been better than I usually am.

I talked to my sister on the phone last night about what I've been doing. She's been in my corner for years, trying to help me motivate and get going. It's hard being so far away from her. She'd be the perfect workout buddy. :( But as I was telling her about the reading and the stuff that I've done, I felt the excitement return. Especially when I told her how loose my pants were. LOL. My weight loss is negligible so far, a couple of pounds at best, but my pants are so loose, I don't have to unbutton/unzip them before taking them off! So that tells me that something good is happening! I am also less awkward and stiff. My knees don't hurt as much. A small change, but a positive change nonetheless. Enough to keep me going, for sure.

I have been working really hard on using the proper form. I am getting a bit better at lunges, they are still kind of hard, and when I do have knee pain, it's when I do a lunge improperly. ouch! But I'm having less and less problems with that. So another improvement.

I did a "power sculpt" strength training workout dvd today, and strength training seems to be my forte. I was able to do the exercises...only had to modify the pushups, and didn't have to stop for a break, I did the whole thing, whereas the cardio dvd's KILL me!! I have to modify AND take breaks and march in place until I can resume. Is that normal, I wonder? To be better at one type of exercise than another? When the routine was done, I was sweaty and I was winded, but I was surprised it was "already" over.

I will probably do some form of cardio later today. Maybe a treadmill walk, as the rain/gloom has returned.

I am a little worried though. I have been able to do what I've done because I've been home and rested and haven't had other things to distract me.... Sophia's at school, Nick's at work, etc.

I start school again on Tuesday, and I am worried about being able to keep this up. I know there are things I can do on campus, such as walking from upper to lower campus and back a few times, and a track of sorts to walk on... and a pool I think? I may have to do that... I am not sure how much time I'll have between classes, clinicals and homework. :-/ I may have to seriously overhaul my sleep/wake schedule to fit it all in.

The other thing I worry about is eating... eating on the go is always harder than when I'm at home and can fix myself something... like a sandwich or a salad or whatever. I'll have to get creative. I'll have to buy a lunch bag thing... Hm... I guess I will do some brainstorming. I need ot figure it out. Don't want to lose momentum.

Tennis anyone??

We went to the Kentwood High School tennis courts today (the weather permitted), and we hit the ball around. There was a backboard, and 6 courts. We were there for a couple of hours, and I only took a couple of sit down breaks. I know my heart rate was up, and I got a good workout.

I felt more energetic today than I have in the past, so maybe my metabolism is starting to speed up a little bit. The only bad thing was I felt all heavy and lumber-y... like a bull in a china shop, kinda. I have a long way to go to get my flexibility back. But it felt good to be outside in the brisk cool weather.

Tennis is a game I enjoy, too. I used to be pretty darn good. If I can get my hustle and flow back, I can be good again. I still connect with the ball and can serve and such. :)

I will be going back there.

walkin' in a winter wonderland...

But without the snow... ;)

It's a dry day today, cloudy but with some sun breaks, so I decided to take a walk. I am very lucky to live near protected wetlands, and there's a hike/bike/equestrian trail that runs behind my house. It has uneven terrain, and it goes on for MILES, and it's a favorite spot particularly in the summer. It's a chunk of woods/forest in the midst of the suburbs.

I put my mp3 on shuffle and hit the road, Social D kicked things off, and I put one foot in front of the other and began my workout. It was humbling in a way, to see how far I'd let myself go. I have always been active, and even though I was never athletic, I could WALK! I used to walk everywhere! Or ride the bus. That is one thing I miss about urban life. I didn't need a car. Where I live, I need a car, or the patience to take 2 hour bus rides. I don't have the latter, so I have a car. I need it too much! :P Between that and the struggles of life I became pretty sedentary. Nursing school and the work/study time that it entails hasn't helped matters much. And yes, let's face it... I became pretty lazy. :(

The nice weather spurred me to get out of the house, and I'm glad I went. It's funny, I never realized how much I loved being outside until I moved up here and the rain put limits on that outside time. Again, I was never particularly athletic, but I loved to just BE outside. Reading a book, walking around my neighborhood, going to outdoor shows, the park, swimming at the neighborhood pool, etc. Being out today, in the crisp cool winter air, smelling the smells, seeing the sights, hearing the sounds of outside was energizing. The woods are beautiful, even though many of the trees were stripped bare, there was still much to marvel at. The day was clear enough that I could see Mount Rainier clearly as I passed the vacant lot between the houses and the condominiums. I stopped to listen to the sound of the creek as it flowed past, as well as the small waterfalls created by drainage pipes. The ducks will be out in force in the summer. some of the trees had lichen and river fern growing on their trunks, a splash of green in the midst of brown leaves and bark.

Many people were out walking their dogs, also enjoying the dry day. I stopped to take a picture of my house as it was visible from the trail. I sent Nick a text and he came out onto our back deck and waved to me, I waved back, and it made me smile.

I didn't walk super fast, but I didn't walk slow. I didn't walk as far as I've been able to in the past, another humbling reminder of how little care I have been giving myself. I managed a mile and some change though. It's a start. I will try to push a little further each time... Hopefully I'll be able to walk to the lake and back by summer, like I used to when we first moved into this house, and even as recently as a year ago. :(

I am somewhat surprised that I still have the drive and the motivation to do all this...and that this drive is as strong as it seems to be. I am famous for starting out very gung ho and with the best of intentions only to to lose momentum and focus.... depression is a bitch. So I am grateful to still feel so good. I am grateful to still have this drive and desire. I will take it a day at a time.

I have been trying to post pictures of myself post workout, and today I posted pictures I took along my walk, in an attempt to keep myself honest. It's easy to say I took a walk when I didn't... but putting up the pictures shows that I am doing more than just talking. Accountability :)

Discrepancy... and relief.

I got on my scale this morning, and it disagreed with yesterday's weigh in at the doctor's office by about 5 pounds. In fact is shows that I have even lost a bit... almost a pound, since the last time I stepped on it. It's a digital scale, and it remembers your past weight, so when you get up on there again it shows weight gains/losses after it displays total weight. It is a digital scale, as is the one at the doctor's office. My theory is that I had on heavy shoes (I was wearing bulky tennis shoes) and it was mid day, and I'd eaten, thus I weighed in about 5 pounds heavier. :)

It is also "that time of month" or soon will be... so I am sure I'm retaining fluids, so I will be interested to see if I drop water weight in the next few days.

Today is a chore day, and if the rain holds off, I will go for a walk outside after I finish cleaning, if not I will do something indoors. I also need to start working on some of my school paperwork, stuff for clinicals, Multi Care orientation stuff. Whee! :)

Doctor visit

I went to my pulmonologists appointment today (well, it was a PA, to be precise). I needed some new stuff for my breathing machine, and my Rx had expired, so I had to go in for a checkup. *sigh*

I was soundly scolded, and when he found out I was a nursing student, I was even more soundly scolded.... you know, the "you should know better, since you are going to be a health care professional" rap. I hung my head and I took it, after all I did earn it. I hadn't been in for a checkup in 3 years. As far as I could tell, everything was fine, so I didn't go, plus scheduling doctor visits around a full school schedule is difficult. But he was right. :p

I got a new mask for my breathing machine, and I will be interested to see what a difference it will make. The old mask was loud, and big and awkward, and it was difficult to sleep through the night with it. This one is much smaller, much quieter, and much lighter on my face. I really hope I sleep well tonight! LOL

I also found out a shocker. I have gained almost 57 pounds since 2008. :-/ Not thrilled about that. He explained the diet and exercise drill to me, and I listened, and sort of smiled inside because everything he told me I had already read in my recent research (thank you Jillian Michaels! hehe). But he didn't just talk. He wrote me a prescription/gave me a referral for a nutritionist. She is supposed to contact me at some point soon. I'm actually kind of excited about this. To be able to sit down and talk to someone face to face and have them help me plan meals and such.

Another suggestion I was given was to do "water walking" where I go to a pool and walk back and forth across the shallow end of a pool for an hour a session, 3 sessions a week. It burns more calories because of water temperature and increased resistance, and also gives my body buoyancy so that I can do the work painlessly. It sounds like something I can totally get behind. But I am honestly worried about the whole being seen in public in a swimsuit thing! :p Plus it costs money to swim, money we don't really have. I have heard rumors that there's a pool at PLU, they must be true since there's a swim TEAM at PLU, so perhaps when school starts, I'll carve out an hour while I'm on campus and do it there. He told me that I could conceivably lose 2 lbs a week from this. And it does seem like everytime I do regular exercise I hurt myself... :P

Hmmm... points to ponder. I think the most likely source for me to cut calories is from my drinks. I don't drink enough water. I just don't. So all the other stuff I drink adds calories to my daily intake. And definitely less sweets. *sigh*

I have noticed that I'm less stiff now that I am moving around more, and my knee isn't troubling me quite as much. These are good signs. In terms of weight loss, it is hard to say... I was down 2 pounds, now I am back up, but I am pretty sure I know what that's about, to be honest, and overeating is NOT it. I guess I'll know for sure in a week or so, if my weight goes back down.

All in all not so bad. And hey, sleep deprivation causes weight gain, maybe I'll drop a bit if I start to sleep normally again. *fingers crossed*