When I feel well, I have a very high average daily step count. Currently, my average is 21,578 steps per day. Some people have asked me how I am able to do this consistently.
First off, sometimes I'm not able to. It depends on whether or not I'm having pain and the severity of the pain. I can keep the count up pretty well, but not hit 20,000 when I'm having pain issues. Sometimes it's very low, but I'm learning how to move my body better when I'm in pain.
So here's my list of how I do it:
1. Bought a FitBit. This is the best thing on earth to me, and I wish I would have had it since the start of my journey. Check out their website. This tracks steps, mileage and calorie burn. Also, very important, activity level. It also tracks sleep. Love, love, love my FitBit. This is the tool that inspires me to get those high steps. Better than a pedometer for me, it's highly motivating.
2. Start the day with a short walk. I usually walk five to ten minutes right off the bat.
3. I do one or two Leslie Sansone DVDs a day. Every evening, I try to do one of her three-mile videos. According to my FitBit, they're actually two plus miles, not close to three, but it's a nice 45-minute walk.
A 1-Mile Leslie averages 2,000 steps. A 2-mile Leslie averages around 3,500 steps. A 3-mile averages about 4750-5000 steps. A 4-mile averages just above 6,000 steps. The 3-miles are good in that they come in at 45 minutes. That's about my boredom threshold. (These aren't real exciting videos! They are great stress relievers, though, because I can zone and think, letting my mind wander.)
4. My beloved exercise videos. One hour-long step tape usually yields between 6-7,000 steps and high activity level. Strength videos, obviously, don't yield very much at all--but it's still important to do those strength workouts.
5. I don't work outside the home, so I do have more opportunities to get in more steps than those that work. Sorry, one of the few luxuries to my unpaid job.
6. I take breaks and play with the dogs. We have a game where I go outside with them, they bring me a toy, and I kick the toy and then fetch. When they go off to retrieve, I walk a lap around the garage. I do this several times a day and usually average 4-500 steps per game.
7. Become inefficient in the home. My laundry room is in our basement but the bedrooms upstairs. Instead of putting clean clothes in a basket and bringing them up in one trip, I make three trips with an armful. More steps. I have become more inefficient in many ways around the home, all in the name of moving my body more. (Doesn't mean I'm not getting things done, I just take more steps to do it intentionally.)
8. I don't watch a lot of TV, but every Tuesday night you can find me walking in place while watching NCIS. Love the show, and I walk throughout half of the show at least.
9. I quit relying on my son to do little errands around the house. I get off my butt and do them myself now. No more, "Could you bring me X, please."
10. Go to Wal-Mart. If I'm short on steps for the day, I'll head off to Wal-Mart. I average 2-3,000 steps just walking around the store, going up and down aisles. No one has ever noticed me, because I'm pushing a cart and looking at stuff, but I go at a quick pace when I can.
11. Mall walk. In my town, I don't enjoy the mall. I go there for the post office. When I go, though, I do several laps. I've gone a few times just to mall walk. It's not my favorite thing to do, but it gets me out of the house. When we visit the big city, I love to mall walk. It's a huge mall and there's lots to see and I get tons of steps from one lap, but take two or three.
12. I've become very aware of those steps by checking my FitBit on a constant basis, so I get up and move around when I think I need more steps.
13. Sometimes I just dance to a favorite song when it comes on the radio or iPod. I am not a dancer at all, but when no one is watching me, I cut loose. =)
14. Became involved in the FitBit community and met some friends that have much higher averages than I do. Talk about motivating! Surround yourself with what you want to become, you know?
That's it. I am constantly aware. Just get up and move. That's all I do.
12.09.2010
12.06.2010
Good News/Stupid News
Good news: down 1.5 pounds, total loss to date: 90.5 pounds. Better news: At doctor's office, I weighed 190 in jeans and shoes. She said their scale was extremely accurate. Wow. I was 192 in my birthday suit at home this morning. I'm still using my scale at home as my basis, though, because I don't go to the doctor once a week to weigh in -- consistency counts.
Stupid news: No blood in urine today so we do NOTHING. I kind of see why they want to do nothing, but I'm tired of pussyfooting around and want to get aggressive, dagnabit. So if it happens again, then we do something. Until then, suffer. Was told to make another appointment with my gyno, which I did, but that's not covering all the bases.
I don't drink, but if I did, I would have one now.
Stupid news: No blood in urine today so we do NOTHING. I kind of see why they want to do nothing, but I'm tired of pussyfooting around and want to get aggressive, dagnabit. So if it happens again, then we do something. Until then, suffer. Was told to make another appointment with my gyno, which I did, but that's not covering all the bases.
I don't drink, but if I did, I would have one now.
12.05.2010
Never a Dull Moment
I went to the ER last night. Why? Because I went potty and it was blood. They checked it, and yes, there was blood. I got the lecture that I'm in menopause and it's probably a period so the doctor needed to check that out.
Newsflash: I'm 45 years old. I've been having periods for 35 years. I know when I have them and when I don't. She said, "You were right." I had to bite my tongue and keep from saying: no sh*t.
That's all they did, and since it wasn't an UTI, I was told to see my doctor and get a referral to a urologist. Tomorrow morning I'll call.
I woke up crampy yesterday and it persisted all day. I've been crampy today, too, but there is no *visible* blood. That's just damned scary. Hubby thought I was overreacting, but I needed to get checked out/proof to give to my doctor.
Now to figure this latest turn of events out. sigh Will be taking my data to show my last few cycles and my pain chart and address that, too.
I am getting so down. I just am, can't help it. Pain, weird things happening, pain. Enough already. I feel fine mentally when I'm not having something go on. Situational.
Newsflash: I'm 45 years old. I've been having periods for 35 years. I know when I have them and when I don't. She said, "You were right." I had to bite my tongue and keep from saying: no sh*t.
That's all they did, and since it wasn't an UTI, I was told to see my doctor and get a referral to a urologist. Tomorrow morning I'll call.
I woke up crampy yesterday and it persisted all day. I've been crampy today, too, but there is no *visible* blood. That's just damned scary. Hubby thought I was overreacting, but I needed to get checked out/proof to give to my doctor.
Now to figure this latest turn of events out. sigh Will be taking my data to show my last few cycles and my pain chart and address that, too.
I am getting so down. I just am, can't help it. Pain, weird things happening, pain. Enough already. I feel fine mentally when I'm not having something go on. Situational.
11.29.2010
Neglecting the Old Blog
I've figured out why I've been neglecting the blog.
1) I'm a perfectionist. I'm very upset that I am not at goal by now. For Pete's sake, I am three months away from my two-year anniversary. I just knew I'd be at goal by now. I did everything right. I still do! I count and measure everything, make sure I get enough protein, etc. It's just not meant to be. I'm upset with this and perhaps embarrassed.
I do know that I will get to goal someday, but it bothers me that it's taking so long.
2) The pain. My life seems to be centered around pain. Much of the time, that's all I think about. I know darned well that it's boring reading, negative and not very good blogging material. I feel like all I do is whine. I try very, very hard to keep a cheerful attitude, but sometimes it's just more than I can handle.
3) This is the biggie. This hit me like a ton of bricks when I figured it out. I had no clue, and if anyone would have asked me, I would have said no way. Depression.
I believe I am suffering from situational depression. Right now, sitting here pain free, I'm great. Not depressed at all. However, when that pain starts, I am so down in the dumps that I cry, I feel completely worthless and miserable. Because, well, I am all those things. It's more than humbling when you can't get up and walk without being in pain. When I have the pain it's constant, always there, but I have surges of extreme pain. There have been a few times where I felt the need to go to the ER but could not get up and prepare to leave the house.
Relaxation is key in getting me through the pain. No over the counter meds help at all. My doctors will not prescribe pain meds--which I think is a standard within the gynecological community from my research.
So the depression comes and goes. I took an online depression quiz the other day and some of the items on that test are always present. For example, one area was social. Do you avoid friends? YES I don't read blogs like I used to. I keep to myself and don't share my journey. Sometimes it's just too much.
So that is something I will work on. Exercise helps that tremendously, but when I'm having that stupid pain, exercise is not good. This last bout of pain I was able to keep my step count in the 7 to 8,000 range--which was better than the previous where I had a few days of 2 to 3,000 steps.
So right now what I'm doing is charting every single day what I feel, twinges, pain levels, my cycle. This is all cycle related. I also bought that hormone test kit and I screwed up because you're supposed to take it on the 19th day of your cycle and I miscounted. I was so upset because I have to wait. Once I've taken the test, I will start progesterone cream and hope that helps. My cycles run every three weeks--ugh.
Right now I've got about two good weeks out of the month. During those weeks, my focus is on moving and doing things because I fear I will be laid up soon.
It's killing me not being able to do workouts like I want. That's the worst part. Well, not being there for my family is bad. My husband is wonderful in that he takes over when I have pain spells, he gets groceries and cooks. He made our Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know what I'd do without his help.
So that's it. Depression, pain, and perfectionism.
I think I really need to start blogging my journey again and get back into the land of the living. I also need to start reading blogs faithfully again because you all are so wonderful and inspiring.
Here's to a couple of pain-free weeks for me. I'm ready to kick butt with my beloved workouts. I'm ready to live life to the fullest while I can.
In the meanwhile, if anyone knows of any natural means of pain relief, please share. Relaxation and breathing through it helps the most, but I'm wondering if there are any supplements that may help. I do take Motrin while I'm having pain even though it does nothing just to help with inflammation. Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
1) I'm a perfectionist. I'm very upset that I am not at goal by now. For Pete's sake, I am three months away from my two-year anniversary. I just knew I'd be at goal by now. I did everything right. I still do! I count and measure everything, make sure I get enough protein, etc. It's just not meant to be. I'm upset with this and perhaps embarrassed.
I do know that I will get to goal someday, but it bothers me that it's taking so long.
2) The pain. My life seems to be centered around pain. Much of the time, that's all I think about. I know darned well that it's boring reading, negative and not very good blogging material. I feel like all I do is whine. I try very, very hard to keep a cheerful attitude, but sometimes it's just more than I can handle.
3) This is the biggie. This hit me like a ton of bricks when I figured it out. I had no clue, and if anyone would have asked me, I would have said no way. Depression.
I believe I am suffering from situational depression. Right now, sitting here pain free, I'm great. Not depressed at all. However, when that pain starts, I am so down in the dumps that I cry, I feel completely worthless and miserable. Because, well, I am all those things. It's more than humbling when you can't get up and walk without being in pain. When I have the pain it's constant, always there, but I have surges of extreme pain. There have been a few times where I felt the need to go to the ER but could not get up and prepare to leave the house.
Relaxation is key in getting me through the pain. No over the counter meds help at all. My doctors will not prescribe pain meds--which I think is a standard within the gynecological community from my research.
So the depression comes and goes. I took an online depression quiz the other day and some of the items on that test are always present. For example, one area was social. Do you avoid friends? YES I don't read blogs like I used to. I keep to myself and don't share my journey. Sometimes it's just too much.
So that is something I will work on. Exercise helps that tremendously, but when I'm having that stupid pain, exercise is not good. This last bout of pain I was able to keep my step count in the 7 to 8,000 range--which was better than the previous where I had a few days of 2 to 3,000 steps.
So right now what I'm doing is charting every single day what I feel, twinges, pain levels, my cycle. This is all cycle related. I also bought that hormone test kit and I screwed up because you're supposed to take it on the 19th day of your cycle and I miscounted. I was so upset because I have to wait. Once I've taken the test, I will start progesterone cream and hope that helps. My cycles run every three weeks--ugh.
Right now I've got about two good weeks out of the month. During those weeks, my focus is on moving and doing things because I fear I will be laid up soon.
It's killing me not being able to do workouts like I want. That's the worst part. Well, not being there for my family is bad. My husband is wonderful in that he takes over when I have pain spells, he gets groceries and cooks. He made our Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know what I'd do without his help.
So that's it. Depression, pain, and perfectionism.
I think I really need to start blogging my journey again and get back into the land of the living. I also need to start reading blogs faithfully again because you all are so wonderful and inspiring.
Here's to a couple of pain-free weeks for me. I'm ready to kick butt with my beloved workouts. I'm ready to live life to the fullest while I can.
In the meanwhile, if anyone knows of any natural means of pain relief, please share. Relaxation and breathing through it helps the most, but I'm wondering if there are any supplements that may help. I do take Motrin while I'm having pain even though it does nothing just to help with inflammation. Any other suggestions are more than welcome.
11.28.2010
My First BIG Wow
I went shopping today. I picked up a couple things and then got in line. I recognized the clerk as one of my son's former playmate's mom. When it was my turn I was friendly and said, "Hi, how are you?" She looked at me kind of weird and said fine, thank you, did you find everything okay?
I thought mmm-kay, somebody wake up on the wrong side of the bed? So I paid, she bagged, and as I was leaving, she said, "Wait, are you XYZ's mom?" I said yes. She said, "Wow, you've lost a lot of weight."
She did not even recognize me! I walked out to my car dumbfounded. She didn't even know who I was. I suppose her mind was turning trying to think while she was checking me out and it dawned on her as I was leaving.
It made my day. And the funny part? It was warm and I wanted to wear a sweatshirt hoodie instead of a winter coat, but I don't have one anymore. DH let me borrow his Vikings hoodie, which is a 2XL and it is huge on me. So my true figure didn't even show. (Boy, was I comfy, though!) Do I really look that different?
I did look at clothes, specifically jeans, and I had to, once again, remind myself not to go to the plus-size section. I wonder how long it will take to break that habit.
It boggles my mind that someone didn't recognize me, though. Wow.
I thought mmm-kay, somebody wake up on the wrong side of the bed? So I paid, she bagged, and as I was leaving, she said, "Wait, are you XYZ's mom?" I said yes. She said, "Wow, you've lost a lot of weight."
She did not even recognize me! I walked out to my car dumbfounded. She didn't even know who I was. I suppose her mind was turning trying to think while she was checking me out and it dawned on her as I was leaving.
It made my day. And the funny part? It was warm and I wanted to wear a sweatshirt hoodie instead of a winter coat, but I don't have one anymore. DH let me borrow his Vikings hoodie, which is a 2XL and it is huge on me. So my true figure didn't even show. (Boy, was I comfy, though!) Do I really look that different?
I did look at clothes, specifically jeans, and I had to, once again, remind myself not to go to the plus-size section. I wonder how long it will take to break that habit.
It boggles my mind that someone didn't recognize me, though. Wow.
11.16.2010
Tears of Joy
I cried for 15 minutes straight tonight, so happy for an online friend who had a very special day today. Nothing makes me happier than being able to celebrate a friend's geat success. =) Will elaborate more tomorrow when said friend has made an announcement on said friend's blog.
I'm no longer worried over DH's job. It is what it is. There are no guarantees in life, and there is absolutely no sense in worrying about something which he nor I have any control.
I'm down 1.5 pounds from my last posted weight on my sidebar! 193.5. Another thing I will no longer worry about: my sloooow losses. It is what it is. I KNOW I will get to goal. I had hoped it would be sooner, but it's not. I'll take it no matter what. 89 pounds down.
Looking ahead, I've bounced around goal numbers since I started this journey. I never knew what I wanted my goal weight to be. I put it high, then reduced it a bit. I think I'm aiming for 150, 149 or 148. lol I'll call goal when I get to 150. That's ONLY 43.5 pounds. That's a helluva lot better than 132 to lose! Go me. I'm really hoping my body will cooperate and release these pounds within the next year!
I have one pair of jeans that fit well at the moment. Had to buy new sweatpants to wear around the house because they're $6 and cheaper than jeans. (And more comfy!) Out of instinct, I bought size XLG. WRONG. Had to go back and buy a large. I also bought a medium just to see. The large works well for comfort. The medium fits but is a tad tight. I keep thinking it's vanity sizing because my belly is still big. Maybe it is, but whatever, that's the size in the store that fits me now. Yay.
Waiting to do my hormone test until the right day. Wish that were in the mail, but have to follow the rules. Hoping that helps. I've had twinges or very light pains every day--nothing that interrupts my day-to-day life, though. Next time that nasty pain hits, I will go to the ER. Period. It was that bad. I have a sneaky suspicion it's on its way back, as I've felt more pressure in the spot that hurts today than I have since it was really bad. Taking aspirin to fight inflammation. Hope that helps.
That's about it. I just feel SOOOOOOOOO happy tonight for someone so wonderful. Great joy indeed!
***********
****EDITED TO ADD:***** The friend I cried for is none other than Sean Anderson! He reached goal, and has lost 275 pounds! I was just overcome, I was so happy for him!*************
I'm no longer worried over DH's job. It is what it is. There are no guarantees in life, and there is absolutely no sense in worrying about something which he nor I have any control.
I'm down 1.5 pounds from my last posted weight on my sidebar! 193.5. Another thing I will no longer worry about: my sloooow losses. It is what it is. I KNOW I will get to goal. I had hoped it would be sooner, but it's not. I'll take it no matter what. 89 pounds down.
Looking ahead, I've bounced around goal numbers since I started this journey. I never knew what I wanted my goal weight to be. I put it high, then reduced it a bit. I think I'm aiming for 150, 149 or 148. lol I'll call goal when I get to 150. That's ONLY 43.5 pounds. That's a helluva lot better than 132 to lose! Go me. I'm really hoping my body will cooperate and release these pounds within the next year!
I have one pair of jeans that fit well at the moment. Had to buy new sweatpants to wear around the house because they're $6 and cheaper than jeans. (And more comfy!) Out of instinct, I bought size XLG. WRONG. Had to go back and buy a large. I also bought a medium just to see. The large works well for comfort. The medium fits but is a tad tight. I keep thinking it's vanity sizing because my belly is still big. Maybe it is, but whatever, that's the size in the store that fits me now. Yay.
Waiting to do my hormone test until the right day. Wish that were in the mail, but have to follow the rules. Hoping that helps. I've had twinges or very light pains every day--nothing that interrupts my day-to-day life, though. Next time that nasty pain hits, I will go to the ER. Period. It was that bad. I have a sneaky suspicion it's on its way back, as I've felt more pressure in the spot that hurts today than I have since it was really bad. Taking aspirin to fight inflammation. Hope that helps.
That's about it. I just feel SOOOOOOOOO happy tonight for someone so wonderful. Great joy indeed!
11.09.2010
Screeching Halt
Just was online reading our local newspaper. It seems DH's company is laying off all but 40 employees. Hubby forgot to mention this to me. Fortunately for us, DH should be safe. However, I can't imagine they'll keep the company open here when there is no production here--it's completely illogical. Illogical to me, that is.
Guess it's time to get the house market ready. Good luck with that.
Just what I need, one more huge worry on top of my health issues and everything else. If I drank, I'd probably get drunk right now. I don't drink, so will have to face it head on.
Holy crap. This economy is so bad and I feel so bad for the families who are losing their jobs. We're a small town and they're not going to find jobs like they have now.
What is in store for us, personally! It's time to go on major frugal mode, I guess. Not that I'm a big spender, but still.
Oy.
Guess it's time to get the house market ready. Good luck with that.
Just what I need, one more huge worry on top of my health issues and everything else. If I drank, I'd probably get drunk right now. I don't drink, so will have to face it head on.
Holy crap. This economy is so bad and I feel so bad for the families who are losing their jobs. We're a small town and they're not going to find jobs like they have now.
What is in store for us, personally! It's time to go on major frugal mode, I guess. Not that I'm a big spender, but still.
Oy.
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