Wish it was simple...

I wish it was simple...
I wish pain was as simple as having an ache or pain and a little flag would come up and say "this is from exercise class" or "this is because you are still carrying too much weight on your frame" or "your walking at your trekdesk is hurting your joints..."

If it was only that simple...

Why do I ask this?  Well my knees - BOTH of them started hurting yesterday, but I don't know why - I understand why on my right side where my sprained ankle is, but I don't understand it on the left side...  Thoughts that go through my head are similar to the ones above - is it from what we did in Zumba on Monday, from still carrying about 40 lbs too much on my frame, from my repetitive walking at my trekdesk, or from the jogging I did at the parade on Saturday (to catch up with the float we were walking with - when I had slowed down to interact with a child I was handing candy to...)  So many variables - no answers...  I guess I just keep taking it easy in exercise class, and listen to my body for everything else (still keeping up with my 5 miles a day at work) and hope that it feels better soon...

I really don't want to have an injury limit me any more - I am already tapered back from what I would really like to be doing...

Which gets me thinking of other things that I CAN be doing - adding some weight workouts - something that will work on burning fat, toning my body, and be gentle on my knees and ankles that I don't want to risk any more injury to...

Time to try to focus on that some more a few times a week...  Perhaps that will be what will make the difference in where the scale is STUCK...

Just passed the 600 mile mark!

Wow-ee on passing the 600 mile mark in miles walked in 2012 today!  Pretty cool to be less than 100 miles away from my total miles walked in 2011!  :)

Yes this is short and sweet - but I have to get off to my Bellyfit class - exercise for my body and soul!  I love these classes... :)

Giving myself a free pass

I fell yesterday in Zumba class - rolled my ankle and fell to the floor... it was embarrassing...

Everyone in class was so sweet though -they stopped the music and doted over me like a bunch of hens taking care of an injured chick...  I had ice a pillow to prop my foot up, a towel to dry my tears and lots of "are you ok's?"

I iced it last night & it was still pretty swollen this morning...  I decided since I am already set up with a Foot and Ankle DR to go get it checked out... I didn't break anything... That's good...  From the x-ray he could tell me that I have injured my foot before - as there is some degenerative arthritis in all the areas of my ankle...  Nothing chronic - but there is some deterioration & some spurring...

Today it is just a Type 2 sprain - and he suggested a brace to wear all the time while it heals & when exercising for the next year or so - it just supports the ankle to help it keep from rolling...

So after walking for 1 mile this morning - before deciding I shouldn't do that any more until I knew for sure I hadn't broken my ankle - I am giving myself a free pass to not get to the 5 miles today...  It feels weird to be sitting a top a stool at my Trekdesk - but it is what it is... I will be back at it tomorrow...

A new low today...

My favorite meal - salad with chicken breast on top... Nummy

I know that it isn't all about the scale - but today the scale and I celebrated a new low - the lowest I have been in over five years.  I entered a new set of 10's digits (which ones are between me and the scale... LOL )

I do have to admit doing a little happy dance this morning after stepping on the scale and seeing that number...  And remind myself that I have been working really hard the last few days to keep my eating in check - maintaining my sugar levels - to help release stored fats - and that might be what finally got the scale to inch down just a bit more...

Hoping to get it to go a few more in the next few weeks so I can hit a nice milestone before I get to meet up with a dear friend I haven't seen in a long time :)

~enjoy~

Step away from the snacks...

So I admitted earlier and lived through again tonight the reality that afternoon/evening is the hardest time for me to stay on track...

• Not snacking/nibbling before dinner...
• Having more than I need to for dinner - the whole idea of my balanced eating is keeping each of my "meals" at the same caloric level - as your body can only process a certain amount of calories at a time before it just stores it away for later because I doesn't have the time to process it completely right now...
• Snacking/munching after dinner... A little tube of sixlets here, and another there, a cookie each time I go by the cookie jar - all not necessary & it feeds into the craving for more and more...

I did pretty well tonight had my dinner - right at the 300 calorie level and then it was about time for my bedtime/evening meal (protein drink and a 1/2 cup of frozen yogurt) and I did give in a bit and made a batch of cookie dough up for the kids to cook tomorrow... I nibbled on a bit of the dough - but I am still WAYYY ahead of where I usually am on the snack/eat everything I can during the evening state...  So I feel good there...

Off to watch some TV in bed with my hubby - but going to brush my teeth and put on my fluoride trays (like a mouth guard) for a 1/2 hour right away so I won't be tempted to munch on the popcorn Mike just made...

Until we meet again...  ~enjoy~

Guess what?

Yep, another week has flown by!  I am feeling good that I have gotten so much movement in the last week - with 5 mile DVD's on 3 nights and one 5+ mile walk outside...  But in putting in this extra effort on exercise, I am thinking I need to recheck my eating (as I am not seeing the fat burn off and shed calories)...

So I am logging my food intake for today & see where it comes in on balance... The calories themselves don't really concern me, more the balance of them Fat/Carbs/Protein - as it truly is about the balance of those to get our bodies to release stored fats to be burnt.

I have gone in and logged the general basics I eat each day and it looks good and balanced (except for dinner needing a bit more carbs which usually will happen from having a bit of what the rest of the family is having for dinner)...

Now if I can just stick to eating ONLY this stuff - no little nibble here and there in the evening - I should be good...

How can I help myself succeed with this in the evenings? Drinking lots of water, chewing gum, and walking instead of snacking...

Wish me luck!

April virtual walk totals...

April I logged just under 140 miles walking at work... When I add that to my previous months of virtual walking this year I end up in Dunnigan, CA...  Sure is fun to track this way - I am over half way to the southern CA border!  :)  Stay tuned for more - been busy, busy so not as much time to update on here...

Walking at home

I am very familiar with the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs - I used them the first time around when I lost over 100 lbs... I would do the videos (then VHS's) during nap times for my little ones while I worked in a storage office.  (I was able to pause the video when a customer would come in and get right back to it as they left...)  They worked great for me at that time & they work now for extra workouts here and there, especially while I am watching TV with the kids.  We have the TV program up on the TV and the DVD playing on a computer i the same room (with no sound) and I watch the DVD for the cues on what should be done next...  (or other times I will use picture in picture on the TV to watch it on the same screen)...

I work up a good sweat and get my heart pumping more and more... And even better, when I am moving I am not snacking on anything either... So it is a win, win all the way around...

One might ask why I would want to walk more after walking at work - but this is different moves - kicks, knee lifts, side steps and some boosted walking/jogging in place... It works great & I am sore in new places so I know I am activating different muscles...

I have done it the last two nights when the weather has kept me from trying to do any walking outside in the evening...  Plus multitasking to be able to watch some TV shows is good as well!

It is all about finding what you enjoy and like to do - exercise should be fun - not a chore!  :)