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FUCHSIARASCAL's Recent Blog Entries
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Friday, July 20, 2012
I finally set up my exercise room in my house!
It was long and exhausting and I didn't get to the gym because of it [although I'm going to do some tae bo after I finish this... I swear!] but I'm very excited for it. It's not a *complete* home gym, but I'll be getting a TreadClimber [treadmill/stairclimber combo, has anyone ever tried one of these?] and some other things soon. I wish I still had the elliptical machine I had in Chicago, then I'd be able to cancel my gym membership entirely but oh well, what can you do...
Anyway, you can read my full blog post about the room [and a question about decorations!] here: fuchsiagetsfit.blogspot.com/2012/07/
home-gym.html Sorry to not post it all up here but it has a lot of images and sparkpeople gives me trouble with uploading photos most of the time, I have no idea why...
I'm going to be gone all day tomorrow. I have to wake up super early to go to the gym [since I didn't go today] and then I'm going to my mom's for a bit, and then we're going to a hot air balloon festival for the afternoon/evening. I probably won't get home until around midnight... and then I have to wake up really early the next morning for a bike ride! So yeah, I won't be around much at all this weekend but don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon! [For the record, my mom is a WW lifetime member and employee so she WILL keep me on track!]
Also, weigh in is on Sunday and so far, the scale hasn't budged. I know, however, that this is because I haven't eaten ENOUGH this week. I just haven't had the budget for it! I've got $26 in food stamps to last me until the end of the month, so... yeah, I've been conserving my food [and calories, by default]. This isn't normal [that's what I get for attempting to buy organic vegetables!] but it's what I have to work with for the next ten days.
Okay, time to go kick some ass in my new exercise room!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Okay, I said that I wouldn't start doing official 5k training until August because I'm working on adding minutes slowly to make sure my ankle handles it. But it turns out that sparkpeople's "5K Your Way" training actually starts out with four minutes, which I did the other day and know that I can handle. And actually, the first day of training is *exactly* what I did the other day, one minute running alternated with four minutes walking, so hey, day one done! I did day two today and it went well also. Actually, it felt even better than day one. The other day, my asthma caught up with me before each minute was up and it was a struggle to finish because of that. [I can do 30 minutes at 7mph on the elliptical with no problem, but running is another matter for my asthma! I wonder why.] Today, I had NO problems with my breathing and I actually felt like I could've kept running after the one minute intervals [but not for long, haha].
So I did 30 minutes on the treadmill today [5k training plus 10 minutes cool down], and 35 on the elliptical [5k in 26:03! New record!]. When I was in the locker room getting ready to leave [already showered and everything], a huge storm came through and the gym lost power. I'm glad I was done with my workout! Ten minutes later when I left, the power still hadn't come on and everyone was just milling around in the dark [the locker rooms had back-up power, but I guess nobody knew that?], waiting to finish their workouts. And then, it was hailing and the streets were flooded, so I walked the 2.5 miles home instead of biking. It took longer, and I was drenched by the time I got home [makes me wonder why I showered and dried my hair, haha], but it was a nice walk. I love the rain. And the lightning was intense and fun to look at [although scarily close!]. Plus, now the heat and humidity has gone down a TON, which is much more pleasant [it was 93 when I was at the gym, and now it's 74].
Now it's 7pm and I still have a ton of calories to eat [I burned 1250 calories at the gym today, even more than my usual 1000 or so] so I'm going to make some [still healthier than normal] brownies and indulge in a few!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Well, I had to go to the bike shop today. I'd known for a while that my rear wheel was messed up, but it was manageable. But on Sunday's bike ride, two spokes broke and it got incredibly mis-aligned and was out of true. I had to ride the last half with a *very* wobbly wheel [it was so wobbly that I could FEEL it while riding!]. I adjusted it as much as I could for the rest of the ride [meaning that I tried to get it to stop rubbing up against the frame as much as possible] but I knew it wouldn't hold that much longer. I needed a new wheel, badly.
So I went down to the bike shop and got a whole new wheel. The good news is, everything on my bike is back in working order and it no longer feels like I'm fighting not only my extra weight and gravity, but also my bike while riding. It once again feels like I'm flying on my bike, which I always love. And this means that I no longer have to put extra pressure on my legs [specifically my right knee and ankle, which have been hurting since Sunday's ride!].
The bad news: a new wheel, labor, etc. cost a lot of money. $72, to be specific. Which is essentially all the money I had in my bank account to last me the rest of summer. I have *maybe* $20 left, which is enough to pay my gym membership for the next two months. But I have no jobs coming in until September so funds are going to be REALLY tight until then, and let's hope nothing else goes wrong with my bike for the rest of the summer!
The okay news: I didn't get to the gym today, since the bike shop was super busy [and only the owner was working] so everything took about two hours. Also, my ankle was still bothering me a bit. But once everything was fixed, I went and took my new wheel [and my front one too!] for a spin on the bike path. Despite the 95 degree heat, I rode 14 miles [funny how I now see that as a quick, easy ride, even in this heat!] and the bike felt GREAT!
Completely unrelated: I've been doing a lot of mental work on myself and taking stock. This is something I like to stop and do every couple of years, at least, especially following a period of deep depression. Part of being healthy, to me, means getting my mental health in order as well. That being said, I've started a 21 day meditation challenge [ www.chopracentermeditation.co
m/Bestsellers/RegistrationPage.aspx?Bo
okId=169 ] and am excited for the doors this will open. I haven't done meditation seriously in at least 7 years so it's definitely time to get back to it.
Gym tomorrow, I promise.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Today's bike ride was SO MUCH FUN! Well, aside from the part where a bee flew into my eye and stung me. Yeah, that wasn't really fun [although I found it extremely funny and couldn't stop laughing]. But everything else was. I'm so glad I went, and did not let my social anxiety dictate the events of the day. I blogged about it here: fuchsiagetsfit.blogspot.com/2012/07/
weigh-in-and-bike-ride.html
I got to add another star to my bracelet today, which is always great. 30 pounds lost. That's wonderful. I'm so proud of what I've accomplished so far. Let's start working on the next 5 pounds!
I *just* remembered, at 6:30, to wash my gym clothes so I don't know if they'll be dry by tomorrow afternoon... it's too late to hang them outside, so I have to stick with the drying rack. We'll see. If they're not dry, I'll just go to the gym Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday again and do yoga tomorrow.
I thought I found a free pool I can swim at for the rest of the summer... but then I did some more digging around and found that it might be open to Providence residents only. It doesn't say that in the swimming pool rules, just that you have to present an ID and pass a swimming test, but the actual community center's rules say you have to be a resident to use the center. So that sucks, if that's the case, because I live just outside the city. Anyway, I tried on one of my bathing suits and it actually doesn't look bad! Okay, it's a black suit and is "slimming" anyway but I don't care about my belly, I'm waaaay more self-conscious about my thunder thighs. But I guess all this biking and elliptical work is paying off because even though my thighs are still big, they're not super jiggly at ALL. I can deal with having big thighs, I just don't like them jiggling all over the place while I walk [and for everyone to see!]. They're kind of firm and muscular, and I will take that!
I also realized that shirts I was excited about fitting into just a few weeks ago are now getting ridiculously baggy. So of course, I went digging through my "doesn't fit yet" pile[s] of clothes and tried on a bunch of shirts. I was surprised to find that some shirts I thought were WAY too small actually fit! So now I have more clothes to add to my wardrobe, yay!
I'm starting to get my body back and I LOVE it!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Today is my half-birthday and it's such an amazing change from where I was six months ago in January. I was steadily gaining on the scale, depressed, spending every day in my bed. I was a shut-in and hated what I'd become but had no motivation to change it. My birthday wasn't the turning point for me... that didn't happen until a month and a half later, and I only got worse until then. The previous year had been rough [to put it mildly], I hadn't been able to afford eating and was borrowing large sums of money from my family just to pay my rent. A solution presented itself, but it meant giving up a job I loved [although admittedly didn't pay the bills] and friends I considered family. I haven't seen my Chicago friends since I moved, a thousand miles is a big distance and none of us have money to spare for travel, and I'm *still* unemployed and without friends in this area. I spent a lot of time wallowing and feeling like a failure, it took a LONG time to get over it. And it still hurts, if I think about it, but I've got other, positive things to concentrate on.
Today, I went to the gym and beat my personal elliptical 5k PR [26:35, 1:30 faster than my previous PR!] and ran four minutes on the treadmill [it may not sound like much, but it's one minute more than last week and eventually my ankle will be able to handle doing Couch to 5K for real]. I've lost about 30 pounds [tomorrow's my official weigh in, but the scale today looked pretty great], and my energy levels are amazing. I bike at least 50 miles a week, and I feel weird if I *don't* get out of the house and do some exercise every day. I nourish my body with healthy food, and I'm rewarded with more energy and less chronic pain [I haven't had ANY back pain in over two months!]. I'm much happier with my life, and I've taken steps towards making it everything I've ever wanted [we're not just talking physical health here]. I'm trying to get back into school, to pursue a career that's always been my calling but I've always been too afraid of failure to attempt. I've been examining myself and making improvements on what I can. I've had some setbacks, especially when it comes to my anxiety, but I'm still improving.
I'm excited to see what the next six months have in store for me. I'd originally hoped to be at my goal weight by my birthday, I don't think that's going to happen anymore but at least if I lose another 30 pounds in the next six months, I'll be pretty close. And no matter what, I'll be lots closer than I was six months ago. Here's to another six months, or sixty years, of good mental and physical health!
Tomorrow morning, I'm going to a meet-up of other cyclists in the area for a 20 mile ride on the bike path. This will be a personal challenge for me, not because of the route [it's my normal cycling route], but because it involves 1) getting out of bed and the house pretty early [I have to be on the road around 9am] and 2) meeting strangers, and having not even a single person I know with me. I'm really struggling with my social anxiety, and I'm trying to not let it win, but this will definitely be a challenge. But it's something I really want to do! I want to meet fellow cyclists in the area and maybe make a friend or two. You don't know how badly I want that, but my social anxiety keeps getting in the way. So here's hoping I can deal with it.
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