Happy on a Monday!

As the weekly blogs seem to get longer, I thought it appropriate to just write when I feel like it. I don't have to wait for the full week before I post. I can do it every day or every couple of days, or even once per week. I don't think there are any rules. 

Basic emotion today = HAPPY.

All I kept thinking about this weekend was going walking/jogging with Josh on Monday. I walked to the Y on Sunday and I was thinking about jogging a little. I had about 40 lbs of weight in my backpack and really didn't think I wanted to attempt it, so I kept thinking about Monday. Monday morning came and at about 9am I couldn't stand it anymore and wished I didn't have to wait until 1pm to do this. What was the reason for my excitement? Well, I think I did an ok job on Thursday with Rachel and I really wanted to see if I could go longer. Also we go outside which is always fun. I felt excited and almost jumped up and down thinking about it. The other new thing I figured out is that two pair of shoes that I had been switching back and forth between daily were not both good for my feet. I had been experiencing some heal pain and I finally figured out that it was my black pair of shoes I had. Last time I walked/jogged with Josh, I had been wearing my black pair. All that heal pain just caused by the wrong pair of shoes sounds like a small little thing, but shoes are a really big part of having a positive experience during exercise. Finally it was 1pm and we headed out to what we called the Y 5K route. We exited the back of the Y and walked to the large oval path that goes around where the hospital used to be and took it to Bethany. When we hit Greenwood Acres Drive we started our first 1 minute run. It sucked! Thursday with Rachel had been so easy. What the heck was different.?! OHH, I know what was different! I had 4 days in between instead of two. Each 2 minute rest and 1 minute jog got easier and one time I just ran until I couldn't do it anymore which was 1 minute 20 seconds. I was happy. Also each time the recovery time during the walk/rest part was quicker. I was very pleased. 40 minutes later we stopped and I was back at the Y! I did it! I am very pleased with myself. One other very exciting thing is right after I told Josh I was going to head out to get a new pair of shoes today after our walk/jog, I found a twenty dollar bill on the ground! I was very excited and put that twenty toward my new shoes that I bought. I got a pink pair of ladies Asics!




I never thought that I would be excited to see if I could jog longer. I can't believe how long I kept doing the cycle of 2 min walks and 1 minute jogs. I can't believe I was looking forward to doing this! I can't believe that I am actually doing this! I am happy that it went well and I am happy that I have two pair of shoes to switch off with again!



It is a good thing that I had a good day because tonight was a little disheartening. I weighed myself at our team meeting and I do believe I was the same weight I started with the first night. WHAT? After being a bit upset about that, I realized I really don't care what I weigh. I know I am feeling better and I know I will see some positive results soon. Hopefully the results will be my pants being too big for me! The guest speaker tonight spoke to us about emotional eating. I really wished that she would have talked more. It just wasn't enough time to speak about it for us to get anything out of it. I feel as though emotional eating is not really something I am struggling with at this time. I also found it contradicting that she spoke about waiting to eat when we get hungry which is somewhat impossible to do if we have a job or a life with a schedule and "if we don't eat now, we don't get to eat" is the general thing that happens. Also it has been drilled into us many many times that we should eat many small meals during the day. So Tammy, my team leader, was very good at adapting what she said to us. She told us to concentrate on the little ruler that she showed us. The hunger scale shows how hungry you are. When you decide you are hungry or think you are hungry, you can look at this scale and see where you are. If you are in the correct area, then it should be an ok time to eat. Being too hungry will cause us to eat way too much or make the wrong choices, so we shouldn't let ourselves get too hungry. Also eating so that we are too full or even sick is really bad and we should just stop before it becomes too much. Of course that is the hardest part! She said it takes about 15 minutes after eating to feel the effects of being full. So, there must be a trick. Oh, yeah... Portion sizes! Ok, I will give it a try. Really I have been so busy being busy that I am not having a hard time eating when I shouldn't. Thanks Tammy for making her lesson something we can use. I know she taught us more that we can use, I will just have to remember that next time I want to eat because I am bored, I should check the scale.

Week 5 – (April 23 - April 29) I have soo much to write about this week!!!

Monday 4/23 was my first day with workout buddy Josh! I was nervous. He is a good inspiration and I wanted to do well. I wanted to walk outside so we walked and jogged on the trail from Hopkins to NIU. He was encouraging, he was motivating, but he didn’t make it horrible so I wouldn’t end up not wanting to do it anymore. If I knew what I wanted to do, I could do it myself, but I didn’t so he helped me and pushed me just a little. We stopped by the cemetery to see MB, our friend that just passed away this year after battling cancer, which made it a good day really because I had not been back to see her yet. We then ended up walking from campus back through the Ellwood House until we got back to Hopkins. I only ran about 4 minutes total and only 4 times, but it was a good start.

A little background on me: I do not run. I have never liked running. In High School when I had to run the mile, I thought I was going to die. I also hated soccer because all you did was run. I am older now and I have sooo many friends that run, I still don’t. I even may have made fun of them a little bit. It is not comfortable and it is not fun for me. I have done some 5k’s and I have also done the 3k at Corn Fest. I have walked them all. I saw no reason to run. My friend Wendy started when she was 35, and I am 39 so I know I could do it. My friend Candi did it and then broke her back and then still went back to running. Also my friend Rachel did it too and she rocked it. Well, I changed my mind. I want to run a 5k. I don't want to do it because my friends do it, they were just people around me that I admire that I know that if they can, I can. I want to do it because I think I can. I also went and opened my mouth that I was going to do the indoor triathlon next year at the Y.  So now I have to think about maybe training a bit. I heard about this couch to 5k.  In November of last year I was doing a little sample of it with a friend that was doing it. It was funny because it clicked how it worked. Each time I went to run after walking, it was getting a bit easier to run. I really wanted to do Nitro’s walk to run program that they just started this week, but I couldn't do the times and days they decided to run theirs so I decided to do it on my own…actually with my workout buddies.

Monday night’s meeting was interesting. We learned about water and things we can do to make our intake of water and food a bit healthier.  AND…I lost one more pound! The other very important thing I learned was how much water I should be drinking per day and the benefits to drinking water. Everyone knows they should drink water, but you may not know why. Some of the reasons include more energy, better heart health, and help with digestion. Here is a good link to a list of reasons to drink more water.

Top 9 reasons to drink water

Also to find out how much water you should be drinking, you take your body weight and divide it by two. That is how many ounces you should be drinking per day. So I am 260 lbs ÷ 2 = 130 ounces of water per day. That is about 8 waterbottles worth of water. Or if I use my big girl Frances size water bottle I only need to drink 2 of them!

After the meeting I took my binoculars and headed to the nature trail. The goal was to just go look for birds and have some relaxation time. It was so relaxing! I saw so many birds and really enjoyed the sunset too.

Tuesday 2/24 was cardio cycling with Frances and friends! I was ready for it but came in a bit on the shy side. I really didn’t want words of encouragement yet, and the group was full of them for me. I feel that I haven’t done anything yet. When I come back next Tuesday, you can give me praise then! The friends in this class are great. I was not sure how much I could do, it had been years since I took a cycling class, but I was able to do it. I even went and walked with Ashley’s Team afterward.

Wednesday 4/25 I made my doctor’s appointment finally and it is for next week! I am glad I finally got that wellness goal done. It was my team workout night. I really really really had a hard time wanting to go. It is not them, I do like the workout, and really it was the team that was making me go. It is the credit for the group and being part of the team made me show up when I thought about not going. But I didn’t go. I decided not to go because I really wanted to have dinner with my family. I wanted to spend time with my kids. It was more important to me. When my oldest got home from school, I took the kids to Afton Forest Preserve. I gave them each a pair of binoculars and we hiked around for about an hour and I took some photos. Wyatt loved picking up sticks and things and Charlie saw a Blue Heron which he was excited about. The bird of the day for me was a white-throated sparrow. They were everywhere and you could see tons of them in the grass chomping on dandelion seeds. We really had a good time and it was much needed time with the kids. I came home and Dean, my husband, and I made dinner together. I did feel guilty not going, but I know it was the healthier decision for me this time.

  Thursday 4/26 – I was very spunky. It was my day off and I made plans to go places and do things. First stop was to the Y for Ashley’s circuit training class. Good workout and saw some other people there from other teams! Great job everyone!!! I then had a delightful rest of the afternoon including a trip to Blumen Gardens, lunch out and a trip out to the Vera Bradley Outlet to get my birthday present. My water intake today was fantastic! Thursday night then was just as good as the day with my 2nd workout with my workout buddy Rachel. I started walking on the track with my friends Sue and Patti while I warmed up and waited for Rachel. Once she was there, we did a nice and non-scary walk run session of 4 cycles of 2 minute walks and 1 minute runs. I did it! I was very proud of myself and felt good. Later we ate dinner together and talked about her, me and life. It had been much too long that Rachel and I got to spend alone time together. It really had been our own faults because we hadn't taken the time to do it. It was a perfect day I would say! So much easier to work out on days you don’t have to go to work! It must have worn me out though, because I fell asleep at 9pm!

Friday 4/27 – Friday was weight training with Sue. It was hard but very good. She wore me out and I worked hard. I LOVED IT! I loved it because I know that weight training is a very important part in getting healthy, she made it simple yet challenging, and she was encouraging. I didn't feel dumb and I didn't feel uncomfortable. I felt like I belonged in the wellness center with all the other people that knew what they were doing. I even learned how to use the Gravitron for pull-ups and dips!  I also know it will help my metabolism and that is what I need.  I really feel good today. Not sure what the magic combination is, but I have been trying to eat right, drink water, not drink soda, and I have exercised every day this week and I am proud to say that. I know I am concentrating on one day at a time, but I am really excited to do this again next week. I hope that I do. I hope I show up and if I don’t, my workout buddies will drag me there and make me. I know if I don’t, then I will feel guilty and if I do it, then I will feel great. Who wouldn’t want to feel great?! I am thinking about going to the cycling class tomorrow morning at the Y.  Looking back at my days, I realize that I said I was going to walk every day. I have not been walking every day, but I have been doing more than walking and I like it!

Saturday 4/28 - Today I don't feel like doing anything... I didn't go to cycling. I didn't go outside. The weather was crappy. I did have to go do some things with the family. It honestly was some good time for us to be together, but other than that, I didn't do a thing! Tomorrow I have to work all day, so I really will have to go for a walk Sunday night or something. I am thinking that maybe some good weather would have helped. I have made all this effort during the week. Now it is the weekend, and I feel like Mrs. Slacker.

Sunday 4/29 - I didn't have to be at work until 11:00am today. I had a little cereal for breakfast and played on the computer for a bit. I started to re-read my blogs to check spelling and other errors. When I realized I did nothing yesterday, I started to think about when I could fit in my workout today, maybe I should walk to work. Could I walk to work? How much time would it take to get there? I have wanted to try to do it for a while now. Winter is over, it is time to try. I have biked there before and I knew it took me almost 20 minutes to get there. I then estimated that it would probably take me an hour to walk there. It was about 3.5 miles. Now that I thought it, I had to do it! I packed my lunch, my workshirt and my water and headed out the door. It was the perfect day to try it because Dean would be home to get me if I ended up walking too slow to get to work on time. I did it. It worked out perfect and took me exactly one hour and it was just a little bit longer than a 5K.

Week 4 – (April 16 - April 22) – Monday night I snuck a peek at my weight again. Down only 1 lb. But then I started to think. One pound per week for a year. That is 52 lbs. I can do that! Then I quickly came back to today. I don’t want to think too much about next week or next month or next year. Just today and tomorrow for now! I like to plan, but then when the plans don’t work out, I do get sad. 

The meeting was good. Sue talked about exercise. After our program and a little fun with Ashley and Tammy while doing Sue’s exercises we sat down with our group and talked a bit. Tammy pointed something out that really hit home. I really needed a buddy to work out with. She and I know that I am a social creature and I need to have someone there to keep me going, to make it fun, and to hold me accountable. So…geeze…I have LOTS of friends that workout on a regular basis. I work at the Y but I NEVER use the Y. I decided that night to sit down and write my friends. I know that one person can’t work out with me every day or even 3 times a week at a time that works for both of us, but I am sure I can find a couple people to do one day a week with me! 

Here is what I wrote them:

Dear Friend, 4-16-12
As you may know, I have been trying to make some healthier choices when it comes to my life. It is becoming apparent that I need to get back in the habit of exercising on a regular basis. Well, you all know I am a social being...so I am going to ask some of you to help me. What I am looking for is a workout buddy. Obviously no one has a schedule quite like mine and none of us have any extra time to give, so I was thinking if I ask all my active friends, maybe each one of you can give me one tiny bit of time once a week so I can see you and catch up and also get a little exercise. I will do anything. I will try anything. So I can swim, bike, weight-lift, volleyball, racquetball (if you teach me), dance, jog (a little), take a class, walk, or do some yoga. I need you and I need variety. So what I am asking you to do is to respond to me by telling me either that you are interested in possibly helping me, or tell me at this time that you are a bit too busy to commit to a day. I will call you or talk to you and we can set up a day/time/and place. And if you can't, I will totally understand and will still be your friend forever. What I do need to happen is if you say yes, and we decide to do this, please keep it up with me for at least one month. I need this. I need to get this to be a habit. I have to try.
Thanks, Tracy C

My request was answered instantly by my friend Frances. She not only said yes, but did exactly what I wanted. She gave me a day and a time and a place. Later everyone responded. Not everyone could help. Everyone wanted to, but some just could not commit to a specific day and time each week. This is what I really was looking for and needed, but I totally commend them for answering me and knowing where their life limits were. I love them all so much and that is why I had asked the friends I asked. So it was set. Rachel was next to respond and the way my week was, I was to start Thursday with her! The rest would start the week after.


The Wednesday workout with my group was good. I choose to stay with those that took it easy on their knees. I rotated between the bike and the elliptical. I mostly did this because I was afraid that the ones that didn't join us on the track would not enjoy their workout as much and them may feel alone if they were by themselves. I didn't care where I worked out, I just knew if it was me that was needing an altered workout, it wouldn't be as fun way from the group. It was an ok night, but I wished their was more variety of what we do in our group. Walking was ok, but as I sat on the bike and watched the circuit training class, that looked fun. Anything different is fun. I left sweaty and feeling like I did get a workout in.

The other thing that was bothering me this week was how tough it is to come back at night for group learning and my group workout time I choose. I already work on Tuesday nights and now I am gone on Mondays for weigh in and learning and Wednesdays too. My workout buddy for Thursday is at night as well. It is beginning to be difficult to come back and I REALLY hated missing dinner with my family. Why do they choose 5:30pm for anything like this? I know why, I am just complaining that it is becoming an obstacle that I will need to change soon.

Thursday I walked with Rachel on the track in the Wellness Center. I planned on doing some couch to 5K training with walking and running, but I was not really into running at all, a bit scared too. Being that I haven't worked out all that much, I decided just a long fast paced walk would be good. And it was good! Thanks Rachel! She was supportive and that is what I needed. I know she will get on me if she feels like I am not doing enough.

Friday was the Cubs Game...of course! I went with my friend Sue and ate too much food and drank some bad stuff too. But...Tomorrow is a new day! The weekend was uneventful. Saturday night I went out with friends to see an awesome band and I danced. Otherwise I didn't do too much, but it was relaxing and recharged me!

Week 3 (April 9 - April 15) – The week must have paid off because I decided to weigh myself (secretly) and I lost 2 lbs since the beginning of the program. YAY! Of course I did not exercise at all for real except for playing wallyball one day and working out with my group, but I have good thoughts in my head. I have been concentrating on getting rid of bad foods in the house. I also have been keeping track of my water intake and also my fruit and veggie intake. I have tried to not go to anything with a drive thru, but failed 2 days and had breakfast from McDonalds. 

Becky Cohen talked with us about life and I really enjoyed it. I have made a wellness wheel before, but hers was a bit different because it already had the pieces of the pie there that had to be there.  I realize that I have a very good social/friend time in my life, but I do not feel very good about my physical well being as in my health. Health things I am concerned about would be my teeth and I need to go to the dentist and I also have high blood pressure which I take medication for. I know that if I were start exercising and eating right, I may even not have to take medication for this high blood pressure that I have. We shall see. I have to make an appointment to see my doctor. It has been over a year and I need to go. Now it is on the to-do list. She also told us to choose one thing to do in the area that we are not doing so well to help us do better. If we do this for 21 days, then it will become a habit. So I chose to walk every day. After our Monday meeting, I went outside right after and walked on the nature trail for 45 minutes. It was a little bit of exercise and a little bit of looking at birds.  

On Tuesday my husband and I did something that I hope my parents and his mom never find out we did. We threw away ALL the Easter candy that we got just 2 days before… YEP! IN THE GARBAGE! It just wouldn't work in our house. The kids don’t need it, my husband is diabetic and I surely don’t need it. Tuesday I also got my friend Michelle to walk with me after work at 8pm. We walked a good 45 minutes from my house to the Ellwood House and back. It was very social and fast, but good! 

The group workout this week I did not go to because I had to be at the Sycamore Library for a little reception for my photography display. I decided that I would make it up by going to Jessica’s on Saturday.  I had a party planned for my birthday on Friday and it was awesome. I ate pretty good, but I did have some alcohol. I did not go to Jessica’s workout on Saturday morning. L But I did go hiking at Fermi Lab that day and walked a great deal with some photography friends. I should really put a pedometer on because we walked a ton!

Sunday was very bad. It was my birthday which was great, but we had a BBQ for my step-son’s birthday. We also had chocolate pie and cheesecake. I ate too much.  I am realizing that I am not really going to win this thing if I keep eating anything I want as much as I want, but should I be thinking that? I need to stop thinking and just do it! Do it right! Tomorrow is a new day. Let’s do it!

 

 Week 2 (April 2 - April 8) – Of course I have never ever been away for spring break , but now that I have this program I am in, I went on vacation with my kids to see some family in KY and TN. Even though I missed the meeting and the group workout, I think I did very well. I did some hiking around and I also ate very well. It seems interesting that you don’t tend to snack on unnecessary foods when you are staying at someone else’s house and it isn’t your fridge to open. I also concentrated on not drinking soda and not eating French fries if we went out to a restaurant. I did very well I think. I also felt very well. I think it was also a healthy week due to no stress, I slept very well and a good amount, and I really concentrated on not drinking soda.

Still thinking about my boys. They had a wonderful time and I hope they remember this little trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. 

The weekend eating was ok. Easter was hard, but I did very well. It was my son’s birthday and we had birthday cakes. Also the grandma’s got the kids (and my husband and I) lots of yummy Easter stuff in their baskets. I am not sure how I am going to deal with this, but we shall see. Usually it isn’t a problem because it isn’t in the house, but now it is.

Week 1 (March 26 - April 1) – So I decided to do this challenge! The Healthy Living Team Challenge that held at the Hospital and the YMCA. I have done it once before but never again due to the meetings being on Monday nights and I have always worked Monday nights. I don’t anymore, so this is my chance to try again. I am very excited and the weigh in went ok. I went on the wrong scale at first and had to weigh in on “my group’s” scale so it would be the same scale each week. I weighed about 4 lbs heavier on the correct scale. Bummer! We also were told we can weigh in each week if we want or at the end. I have decided that I don’t think I want to weigh in. I just hate that part. I also really don’t care how much I weigh. I just know I have to do this. I have to do this for my health. I have to do this so I can live a long time for my kids. I want to get into the habit of working out. Workout Wednesday with my group went ok. We really did more talking than doing, but oh well. I did play Wallyball on Tuesday and Thursday. I really LOVE Tammy. She is motivational, she is knowledgeable and she is funny which I need. I live for humor! It was fun and I did sweat a little bit! I want to win! Of course I may be talking about me winning a personal challenge of meeting some personal goals, but wouldn’t it be nice to win the whole thing?!!! My starting weight is 265 lbs. I know that you would have never guessed that I weigh that much. But, yep, I do.

Love my kids. I need to live as long as I can for them. The first step to this is by living a healthier lifestyle. I am not talking about a diet. I am talking about a way of life. Not just for me. For them as well!