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SPARKABELLA13's Recent Blog Entries
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Friday, June 15, 2012
For some reason, I keep singing the melody to an old Loverboy song, "Working for the Weekend." I'm certain I just AGED myself!!
Everybody's workin' for the weekend
Everybody wants a new romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance
You want a piece of my heart
You better start from the start
You wanna be in the show
C'mon baby let's go
I'm pretty sure I need to add that to my play list. In fact, I need to MAKE a play list for the gym. That's a Spark Project for the weekend. I used to think of the weekends as "oh boy, here's another chance to go off the deep end" ... but I now I see the weekends as a chance to take even better care of me. I have more time ... for shopping at farmer's market, going for an early morning walk on the river walk, trying a new recipe.
I hope you'll join me in SPARKIN' FOR THE WEEKEND!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
It's been years since I've exercised with any regularity--at least 5 or 6 years. During that time, in addition to suffering through some major heartbreaks, including the breakup of a long term relationship and my older sister's suicide, it seems my health really took a turn for the worse. I gained weight back that I had lost. I was diagnosed with Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I suffered through Achilles tendonitis (which was extremely painful at times for over a year), I slipped on the ice and injured my knee (just about the time I was finishing the PT for the tendonitis issue. I had a terrible case of Vertigo about a year ago. I developed some strange dermatology problem (Planus Schlerosis), and then I fell again, this time on my other knee. As a result of the two falls, I now suffer from arthritis in both knees and one of my hips.
So let's just say exercising has not been on the forefront for me and honestly, the thought of it petrified me. The last thing I want is to injure myself, pull something ... and perhaps more importantly, fail again.
I have a visit with my Endocrinologist on July 3 and it's been weighing heavily on my mind. I hadn't been controlling my blood sugar the way I need to and in my mind I know if I take better care of myself I can hold off on having to take insulin--and may not have to take it at all. About 2 weeks ago, I cam back to SparkPeople.com and started tracking my food. I committed to 10 minutes of exercise every single day. It was something I could attain, although to be honest, there were days during the first week when I had to force myself to get those 10 minutes in. In the evenings, I felt like I was just laying on the couch waiting to die.
I felt good about the success of meeting my 10 minute goals even after just a few days. And then I received an email about a special 8 week program at the local Y being offered through a group of local school district & college's health partnership. I could have full access to the Y's facilities, including classes, the pool, the indoor track, cardio & weight equipment, PLUS a one hour group session with the trainer for each of the 8 weeks. I signed up last Friday and selected the Tues., 5-6 pm group for training.
Monday rolled around and I was feeling apprehensive about walking into the Y to exercise. At one time I was a member and went there daily, sometimes more than once a day if I was taking a class, and managed to get into the best physical condition of my life ... but after all of these things that had happened to me, I wasn't feeling confident in what I could accomplish.
I made another commitment. For 8 weeks, I would visit the Y at least 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes each visit. Anyone can do that, right? Believe me, I had to talk myself into.
Monday evening, I went and managed 60 minutes of cardio (which, by the way, shocked me). I left feeling great. Tuesday morning I felt even better, especially at work. The day passed quickly and it was time for the group session. We spent some time talking about nutrition and the trainer calculated our BMI and then had us start with some cardio to get our hearts beating. Up and down a flight of steps and around the track, 3 times, and then up and down the steps 3 times consecutively. Boy was I sweating. I woke up Wed. and again, felt great. I could feel that I had used some muscles I wasn't accustomed to using, but it was a good feeling. Last night I made my third visit and put in another 55 minutes of cardio. And again today, I feel amazing. My mood is even better.
I may take tonight off ... or not! I'm starting to look forward to the time I spend working on my health. My fasting blood sugar was 122 this morning, the best it's been in months. All of these benefits reaped from less than 2 weeks of just getting my body moving and making conscience choices about what I put into my mouth.
I know there will be imperfect days. I've already had them. If anyone thinks they're going to ride through the journey of life and never fall off the horse, they're setting themselves up for disappointment. You can fall (physically or emotionally) an infinite number of times. It's the getting back up that matters most!
Monday, June 11, 2012
I had mixed feelings about visiting Gym tonight. It had been quite some time since I had seen "him" and I was doubting how I would feel once we were actually face to face. It was much as I remembered, although there were subtle changes here and there. I spent 60 minutes with "him" and came home feeling really good about the time spent together. I surprised myself. Communication came easy. I worked very hard to express how much I missed "him" and how good it felt to be with "him" again. My face was red and I was very sweaty on the way home, but it felt good. I'm thinking this could very well turn into a summer romance.
Treadmill 32 mins
Elliptical 18 mins
Recumbent bike 10 mins
672 calories burned ... YEAH!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
I stopped by the grocery store this afternoon to quickly pick up a few items but mainly to pick up prescriptions in the store pharmacy. I managed to travel down the bakery aisle without buying anything other than half of a loaf of Marathon bread (it has various seeds, shredded carrot, pineapple, made with organic wheat flour, etc.)--it's SO good (If you have a Wegman's, check it out). I also meandered down the snack aisle without putting a single item in the cart. I was hungry at the time, and my blood sugar was dropping, so this would normally present me with a challenge.
I came home, took my blood sugar and enjoyed Asian Salad and a slice of the Marthon bread and a glass of half-caf iced tea with fresh lemon balm.
A week ago, I was in a constant state of craving sweet items, but I find that desire is fading. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE sweets and will probably always have to fight that battle, but I've noticed I don't crave them constantly like I did a week ago. Could it possibly be all of this healty food, water, exercise and sleep I'm showering upon myself? It's the only explanation I can come up with.
Bypassing my "red light" foods at the grocery store today, attention to portion size, all of these better decisions have provided me with such a sweet victory -- and I can' think of a better desert!
~SP13
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Just back from 45 minutes on the river walk with my little miniature long-haired dachshund, Aldo (by the way, he feels good too). It's no wonder my spirits are high and I'm feeling good. I started the day with buying fresh local produce at farmers' market ... and now winding down after a bit of exercise (yay, me)!
If I seemed overly excited about the fact that it's been a good day, that's probably because I've been feeling bad about myself and my lack of motivation / willpower / determination that living a healthier lifestyle isn't just about wanting to be a certain size, or a certain weight, but rather ... I want to LIVE! Truth to be told, I haven't been taking care of my Diabetes the way I should be and I need to make lifestyle changes for good -- not just a few days or a week.
It's been a year of transitions with my daughter moving in, moving out, leaving town, coming back -- not because she's unstable -- but because it's part of her senior year in college and completing a new internship each month. She'll be graduating on Aug. 4 and the next time she moves, it will likely be several hours away to begin her new career. I'm both proud and happy for her and smile knowing how much promise her future holds.
My future on the other hand, feels like a very large question mark. I've been a single mom since my daughter was in 2nd grade. It's all I know. Now that she needs me less, I know I need me more.
So yes, I am deliriously happy I've made progress this week. I don't feel like I'm being punished, or that I'm not getting enough food, or that I'm in some sort of military boot camp. I am simply making better choices, moving more, sleeping more, drinking more water, and taking the absolute best care of me.
I need me to do that!
~SB13
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
It sounds like you are on the right track. Isn't it surprising to discover that exercise can be enjoyable?
Very Cute