Why I Need Jillian...

Well, maybe I don't actually need Jillian. I'm pretty sure the whiner in me would come out, and if she didn't completely wash her hands of me, she would kill me on the treadmill. I don't really like to be driven. I don't like to think of myself as a quitter, but I certainly could be in the running as the Excuse Queen.

However, I would definitely benefit from a trainer. I've tried to convince myself over the last few years that I can do this by myself. Actually that's just an excuse to be cheap (so I don't have to pay for one) and lazy (so I can pretend I am pushing myself when I'm just trying hard). The obvious truth is that at the rate I'm going, I will stay where I am; better than when I started but not where I wanted to get to.

Sometimes it takes a smack upside the head to drive a point home. I was watching Extreme Makeover--Weightloss Edition recently. The girl on the show was doing her workouts, but she wasn't losing weight. Chris Powell pointed out she wasn't working hard enough. She would have to do more to get her heart rate up to where it needed to be. It was an uncomfortable truth.

That is me. When I work out on my own I take breaks and I slow down when I get out of breath. But when I go to an exercise class the sweat is running down my face, my hair is soaking wet. The driving beat of the music keeps my speed up, but more importantly the trainer keeps us moving. And of course I'M not going to quit when all those other people are still going.

Group Therapy. And a trainer. That's what I need. But I'm more comfortable staying in my comfort zone.

Last Friday, I took off and skipped my favorite yoga class because I was tired after all the classes I attended through the week. This week I was hoping to pace myself better, because the truth is, Friday is not a good day to take off. I don't usually work out over the weekend. THOSE are my days off.

The gym I workout at is a bit unusual. They have classes called TBC for Total Body Conditioning. Their policy is to mix up the workouts each day which means you don't 'go to yoga, M-W-F' or to a cardio class at 10:30 every Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes yoga means 'yoga flow--a movement class. Sometimes it means Pi-Yo which emphasizes core conditioning. Sometimes it is on Monday, sometimes it is on Tuesday.

The pros of this method is that your body does not develop muscle memory which weakens it's conditioning. (It never learns what to expect.) The difficulty with this system is scheduling. I may have something planned on a day I could really use the yoga class and I may be free on a day when a class I need isn't offered.

Another thing they do that seems new to me, is that at the beginning of each month the routine for each class will be a bit easier as new moves are introduced. By the end of the month the moves are intensified as we grow into them. Muscle memory outfoxed again.

When I first tried attending this gym I was turned off; annoyed that I couldn't get a simple schedule. Over the years, I've learned to embrace the system. I plan to go 3 days a week and I take what is available that day. It is working. Now that I go with the flow, I've learned how much stronger I am getting, and that makes me feel good.

I still like taking Fridays off, though. By the end of the week I'm ready for a day off.

I guess I'm still working on that whole pace thing.

August

My last post was in February and indicated I was entering a plateau period, both in weight loss and in motivation. I sounded hopeful that things would turn around. Oops...they didn't.
March I went to Florida and was very disappointed when I put on 5 pounds. That surprised me because both of my daughters prepare health conscious meals. Jen carefully watches fat and sugar. Jan is very conscous of portion sizes. Neither girl has bought into the idea that if people are present you have to make big meals with lots of food AND dessert.

As I look back on this summer, my travels, and other things I have discovered a few things.
1) Exercise is crucial not only to weight loss, but even to maintenance. When I visit my kids, I don't get in the walking that I do at home. The same was true of winter time. I lose weight best when I can get outside to walk. I enjoy it more than walking inside, like with the 'mall walkers'. 10,000 steps is crucial for weight loss. 6,000-8,000 is needed for maintenance.

2) There is a change. This all started last summer because I had a hard time keeping up with Jen when we were at a theme park. I recognized she wasn't going that fast, but I was walking really slowly. This year I notice that when walking with a group I now have to slow myself down. I've picked up my pace. Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. It is one change I am really pleased with!

3) I lost 15 pounds and put 5 back on. I am still 10 pounds lighter than last year. I have 10 pounds to go, but I want to lose 15 simply because I usually put 5 back on when I try to maintain.

I've been walking a lot this summer. I added the townships walking path to my routine. On a good week I do 2 miles minimum every day, and often 3-5 miles a couple of days a week. I haven't lost any weight, but I've enjoyed it.

The quest goes on. I don't give up even if I don't see change. I know if I give up, the weight goes back on and THAT is defeat.

Seeing a Difference

I've been much better this week. I've managed to work out every other day, even when I didn't want to. Today it is snowing, so my work out will actually come a little later when I go out to shovel snow. That is a full body workout--legs, back, arms, shoulders, abs. It pretty much hits all muscle groups, and is aerobic as well. There were times this week when I didn't want to walk or work out, but I took my own advice and just did it.

There was one day when I cut my walk short, which is unusual. Normally, once I start, the dog keeps me going and we do the full mile or go for 2. The day in question I was uncomfortable because the sidewalks were slippery, the streets were salty and it was late in the day when people were coming home from work. As I neared the entrance I felt more and more  like a target on the street, so we took the shorter inside route with less traffic and came home.

Best part??? Instead of losing my usual 1 pound I lost 1.5 pounds!!!! Even better, the inches really dropped off when I measured myself. Even that dastardly mid-section that just loves looking like a balloon gave up a couple of inches. That's what I'm looking for!

Today is cold and I will be outside soon shoveling snow. I usually wear long underwear under my sweats, but today I switched it up. I have my longjohns on under my jeans! No problem! Plenty of room. I may get into those size 10's yet. Here's hoping....

Re-learning Old Tricks

Before I went to Iowa, I was walking regularly. I had gotten to the point where after walking the 'easy mile' I didn't need to stretch. My legs and joints had become accustomed to it. The 'hard mile' with my two favorite hills, still tested me. But even those walks left me hot, sweaty, but not really tight. Stretching had become less important. I always stretched after a weights workout, or doing floor exercises.
Walking in Iowa was easy by comparison and I never bothered to walk afterwards.
Now I'm home and the shin splints have returned! I guess it's time to re-learn old tricks.

Results day in Iowa

10 days in Iowa now. Time to do a status update. I don't have my scales available but I brought my measurement tape. My jeans help keep me honest as well. After they were washed the fit was still good. I can't have put too much weight back on. This morning when I measured myself I did see a little change. My butt's the same, (YEA!) and the rest of me shows the normal weekly shifts. Hmmm 
On the positive side, I have kept snacking to a minimum. I've stuck with my normal breakfast. Dinners have been very healthy, low-fat, and made with natural ingredients. Janice did a great job of pre-planning meals for us and they were in the freezer. All we had to do was pull them out and heat them up. They consist of fresh veggies from the summer, and low-fat meat. The portions are excellent, so I'm not guilty of overeating.

Exercise has been sporadic, but I've kept my pedometer on so I know what I've done. Actually, that just means I know what I haven't been doing! I've only achieved 10,000 steps one day since I've been here and that was the day I managed 2 walks! I've managed to walk 3 days and I've managed to do a weight's workout 3 days as well! Those are the pluses.

I'm ok with 'pluses'. Why look too deeply, you know? But then there's that truth factor.
So here are the negatives.

I've only used the weights 3 times. There is no excuse for that. On any given day I can find time for that part. I don't want to do it everyday, but I should have been able to do it every other day, or 3 times a week, at least. I have only myself to blame. My excuse is simple. I don't like to do it in front of other people. I get self-conscious. So if no one is here, I do it. Otherwise, I should just go off to my room and get it done, but I don't.

Dinners always have carbs, either as a side dish or as part of the main dish. The garlic mashed smelled awfully yummy, so I had a scoop. Sometimes a double scoop. So much for willpower! This is the problem of eating out. I can control what I fix, but it is hard to ignore what is offered to me.

I have reverted to bad habits and caved in when someone offered me sweets. Last night it was 2 large, fresh chocolate chip cookies totalling 44 carbs. (I mean, who would have said no. Certainly not me! FRESH and WARM!) Today it was 2 hotdogs when 1 would have been enough.
I will be here at least 1 week more. I will try to get my weights workout where it should be.

I can say I have met expectations. I knew I would exercise less, and I did. I knew I would eat more carbs, and I did. And if there is one thing I am REALLY good at it is losing all sense of willpower around sweets.
If there was one thing I would like to change about me, it would be my sweet tooth.

If there is one thing I don't do actively enough it is to visualize positive results. I can avoid making pancakes, but if someone is serving them I can't seem to walk away. So I am.....

Still working at it!

Conquering Killer Hill

I am a little stunned. I am really getting stronger. I didn't want to walk this morning, but I knew I had to. Yesterday I barely made 3,000 steps between a doctor's appointment that took hours and errands I needed to do. Today I had to pick up the pace again.

I left the house and started out, but as I walked I realized it was the perfect time to take the dog. The air was still relatively cool and by afternoon it would be back in the 80's. I went ahead and walked the half-mile loop and picked up the dog on my way past the house.

Maggie was just what I needed. She started out almost at a trot. I had to hurry to keep up with her. My route today was the mile and half route that involves the steep hills. I've come to recognize them as Killer Hill and Canyon Hill. I should add here, that I was a Floridian for almost 30 years. FLAT terrain is what I consider normal. So while the local residents may see these hills as just hills, to me, they are really big. The road I was on ends in a turnaround at the top of Canyon Hill. Killer Hill is fine starting out. The first time I encounter it I am going down. I like down! Down is fun. Down isn't stressful. And I have a fantastic view of the hills in the distance.

But once I get down, I have a short level area before the hill begins to climb up to the turnaround. It is the only way out of the canyon, thus the name. Once I'm at the top of Canyon Hill the process reverses itself...down Canyon Hill and up Killer Hill, named because, by now, I'm dead!

I don't understand how it happened, but today I ran! Maggie and I started down Killer Hill at a fast walk. About half way down I started to jog. Maggie trotted. I looked ahead to the level area and where the road begins a gradual incline. (This is like a foothill to Canyon Hill.) There was a bull dozer about half way up the incline. "Maybe I can make it to the bulldozer... don't even think it... you know how you are on running. You'll get to the bottom and quit... just run till you stop". This is how I encourage (?) myself. I continued to jog. Head down, seeing only my feet, pant, pant.... huff, huff, one foot in front of the other... pant, pant, ...."wait... Did I just pass 2 pickups? There weren't any pickups near the bull dozer.... where is the bull dozer?"

I glanced up and saw the trucks. I looked around. The bull dozer was 30 feet behind me! Holy COW!!!! How did that happen?

At the top of the foot hill, I stopped and let the dog off the leash. We were past the construction and it was open road from here. Maggie loped off and I kept walking. Head down...seeing only my feet... climbing Canyon Hill. My mind kept thinking about stuff as my feet kept moving, one step in front of the other. When I looked up again, I was at the top of Canyon Hill. I am always excited when I make it up without stopping. My heart was pounding, water was running off my face, but I was still moving.

After doing a few laps around the turnaround to catch my breath, I started back down. Once again, I started to jog and kept jogging after I reached the bottom. Maggie caught up with me and I put her leash back on as we began Killer Hill. We weren't moving very fast by now, but we were moving and we never stopped. The last stretch up to our house is the perfect cool down. Neither of us are moving very fast. In fact, I'm always walking ahead of the dog on the last part, but we keep going.

I looked at the clock when I walked in. 50 minutes, 2 miles, 5,000 steps, and I had run much more than I've ever done before.

Could I ever get like the Biggest Loser contestants? Imagine me, a runner. It's still a pipe dream, but for the first time I see a little light at the end of that pipe.

Ouch

I hate my middle. This is the body image area that I long to correct the most. My mother and I share that feeling. She didn't like her middle either. The battle of the Bulge for us was between the "under bust" to the waistline. (I'm currently not nuts about the waist and hip area either, but that area actually is easier for me to control.)

So I did it! I dragged out my weights, checked my exercise cards, put on the music and gave myself a good old fashioned workout like my favorite Florida trainer used to do!

Actually, it was about half as long and half as fast as my favorite Florida trainer used to do.

Doesn't matter. It hurts. All over. It especially hurts to cough.

Darned abs.

Exercise? Puh-leze!

I'm starting to get nudges. Nudges from my conscience, nudges from Dr. Oz, nudges from my doctor. Go away. Leave me alone. I'm walking already, what more do you want?

Dr. Oz says muscle mass burns more calories. My conscience reminds me of trainers from my past...muscle burns more calories than fat...muscle pounds are good pounds, fat pounds are bad pounds, muscle improves your BMI...yadda, yadda, yadda.

My doctor says weight bearing exercises will build stronger bones and help prevent osteoporosis. Shhhh, no one wants to hear they are a candidate for osteoporosis. Can't I just swallow a calcium pill and eat more yogurt? "My gym closed," I tell her. I liked it. It was a small gym, just for women. I don't like those big gyms with 100 machines and kids in their 20's bopping around on them. "Maybe you can try Curves," she suggests.

Nudges.

The truth is there are plenty of opportunities around here, but the gym I really liked closed. I thought I could exercise on my own, but it is really hard motivating myself. I find I balk at the time constraints. If I walk and then exercise and then shower, the morning is gone. (So what's so important about the afternoon," my conscience asks? "You're retired.")

Nudges.

7 pounds in 7 weeks? If you want that to change, you have to exercise.

Hmmm, somehow I have to motivate myself into this. The truth is, after all the outside sources nag at me, my doctor is right. Osteoporosis runs in my family. I need to add exercise to this program.

Really? Puh-leze! (Oh okay... quit nudging me!)

Nike was right.

Yesterday, I was in a lazy mood. Actually, I'll give myself a break here and just say I didn't mind doing stuff. I just didn't want to do it outdoors. I vacuumed the family room and cleaned the kitchen floor. I gotta say, right here, that cleaning the kitchen floor is probably my least favorite house cleaning chore of all. We have a yellow lab who is really well behaved. We can send her outside and she stays in the yard without us telling her to. However, there is a trick to this. She knows as soon as she comes back in the house she gets a 'cookie'. The treat jar stays on the counter and as soon as she does her thing outside, she comes in and stands by the jar. If I'm slow getting to her she drools. In fact, when she walks through the door she's salivating. When I look at the kitchen floor in the right light I can see all the spots around where she's been standing. I hate cleaning that floor! I spray it and let the cleaner soak in, I mop it and then I go over the remaining spots by hand. Yesterday, was the day to 'git her done'.

Normally, I would have walked first thing in the morning, but it had rained hard the night before and the sky was still heavy. It did not look inviting. So I decided to start with housework, and when I was finished I rewarded myself by finishing a book I was reading.

Of course, hanging around the kitchen gave me easy access to the pantry where the bag of trail mix kept calling me. The almonds and peanuts were great and right on my diet plan, but I don't think I was supposed to keep picking out the raisins and m&m's. The fruit was looking pretty good too, which for most diets would have been fine. 1 cup of grapes is ok, but the whole bunch was probably a bit much. Oh well, the way I see it is that now that they are gone they are much less of a tempation!

As you know from my post yesterday, all this may have been good for the house, and nice for the soul, but my step count sucked and I was in no mood to boost it. So I came to the blog and vented. Guess what? It worked!

Just talking about it made me feel a little guilty. And as I thought about it I realized I was wimping out on a measly 20 minute walk. I didn't have to do the mile and a half up the really steep hill. I could do the easier mile and still boost my count. What was my problem? The little me on my shoulder went on to aggravate me by pointing out that after my walk I would still have time to shower before I needed to start dinner. SO GET GOING, my mini-me conscience said.

And I did. Once I laced on my shoes, and headed out the door, I was ready. Heidi's comment yesterday was right. It's harder putting on the work out clothes, than doing the workout.

Cleaning my kitchen floor was no different from walking. Nike was right. JUST DO IT!!!!!

Total step count yesterday--9643!

I Think I Need A Boost

I think I need a boost. A boost of energy, a boost of motivation, a kick in the butt.... something. I have worked really hard out in the yard the last couple of weeks. I have exercised every day. I usually take a day off from walking on the weekend, but get back to it on Monday.
Yesterday I was stiff and a little sore. I had a lot of work to do and I gave myself permission to take a day off and catch up on other things. At the end of the day I had still managed around 9600 steps so that wasn't too bad.
This morning it was cloudy and wet from the rain last night. I knew even if I went out to walk I would be soaking wet when I got back either from rain or humidity. I wasn't in the mood. And I had that book to finish...
So it's 4:00 and I've walked a total of 3900 steps. The sun is out but it is really hot. I know if I just go out and walk 1 mile I can be done in about 20 minutes. Now I just have to talk myself into my shoes and out the door.
Tomorrow I hope I can start out early the way I like to. That seems to get my day going in the right direction.
Today's total--so far--3934 steps.

Stretching is not just for the gym

I am a slow learner. Every time I've worked out at a gym or taken a class, the instructor always has us stretch at the beginning to warm up, and at the end in the cool down. I've heard workout gurus on TV say "Always stretch before you work out and after". Me? Not so much. I take off on my daily walk, down the hill to the entrance to the neighborhood (1/2 mile) turn around and come back up. At home, I'm usually ready to just grab a towel to dry off and then collapse. I think those 3 days of pain finally woke me up. I've learned to stretch.

I'm not fond of walking up and down hills. I kind of liked walking in Florida where it was flat. I didn't hurt as much! Well, hills are what I've got so I guess it's time to learn to manage them.

The downhill part is fine! I've often grumbled that it's not fair that the only way to my house at the end of my walk is uphill, when I'm already tired. But the other day I realized how lucky I actually am.

So far I've managed to walk right after breakfast, because it is cooler then. I don't do much in the way of warm-ups, but the first half mile is all downhill, so that has become my warm-up. The other day as I was walking I felt like I was getting shin-splints. At the bottom of the hill I took a few moments to stretch out my legs and calves before I began the walk back up. On the way up I realized that the reason I don't get shin splints often when I walk is because that uphill climb has the same stretching effect. The front of my legs get the break, while the calves do the work.

And at home, I no longer collapse, but take several minutes to stretch my legs, back, arms and neck. You know what? I haven't had a sore day since! Who'd have guessed!

Today's total--12,600 steps

Ouch

I found a book in the library that seemed to be written for me. It is called the Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook. In a nutshell, a young(er than I am) woman found herself at a crossroads in her life where she seems to be spinning in the wind, no direction in mind. She has just left her job and on the same day her boyfriend leaves her. What does she do? What most of us would do. She holes up in her house with her cookies and icecream until the time for licking her wounds has passed. Then she straps on her walking shoes and her pedometer and gets ready to move on.

I too, have experienced a big change in my life. Right after my youngest daughter got married, we moved to Pittsburgh and I retired. I wasn't as shell shocked as the girl in the book, but it was a big adjustment. However the real commonality between the main character and myself was the Gung-Ho Attitude.

In the book, each chapter starts with the number of steps she has walked that day. While holed up in the house it was something like 32 steps, 111 steps, 51 steps. You get the idea. Nothing!

Then when she decides to move on she laces up her athletic shoes and hits the road. At the end of the day she has walked 11,232 steps! And the next day her diary reads... OUCH!

In our neighborhood, 'flat' is a term that does not exist. The roads go up and down, and around, but there is no flat. On the day that I decided to pick up my pace I set out. I have walked these roads for 3 years now, so I did the whole 2 1/2 mile route. I rarely paused. I walked at a good strong pace. I huffed up those hills and pounded down. When I got home, I congratulated myself and collapsed on the couch while Rachel Ray prepared a delicious pasta meal. By mid afternoon my muscles were tightening. By the next morning I could barely move. It was 3 days before I was back to normal.

Ordinarily, that would have stopped me, but not this time. I will stay the course. The question is, what have I learned?

The answer---Baby Steps. My new plan is to do one mile at a pace I can manage. Each day I time myself. What used to take 25 minutes I am now doing in 20 minutes, but this has taken a couple of weeks. I used to stop on the way up the hill, but I've learned where the burn point is and I am powering (it is a slow power, ha ha) through it. When I'm comfortable I will raise the bar to 1 1/2 miles. So far I feel good! This is working.
Today's total--11,500 steps.

The Plan Part 1--Exercise? UGH

Recently my daughter and I went to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Isle's of Adventure. We knew it would be crowded. We got there early and wanted to get to that part of the park as quickly as possible. She had mapped out the route we would take. As soon as we got our tickets we were off. Correction...She was off. I was huffing and puffing behind her trying to keep up. As I looked at her I realized she really wasn't walking all that fast. I was just walking very slowly.

My first step to a healthier life is to pick up the pace. That's bad news for Maggie. When I walk her, I've been letting her pick the pace. We stop and sniff at trees, poles, and visit with neighbors. I've seen our walks more as entertainment for her, than exercise for either of us. In the heat of the summer I am also hesitant to push her on long walks. All of this has helped me lose whatever pace I once had.

Now first thing after Larry leaves for work in the morning I head out on a fast walk. Maggie gets the slower walk in the evening. That's a win-win for me. 2 walks in one day. Yea! Unfortunately, I've tried this before, but something always comes up to interfere and break up the routine. My challenge will be to keep this up when fall hits and I have places to be in the morning, or in the winter when it is cold and snowy.

Keep with me. Help keep me honest and active!
Today's total--14, 152 steps!!!!!!