Step One: Exercise and Activity

If there is one single thing that is the most difficult about trying to get more fit and healthy for me, it's this.

Getting Exercise and Increasing Activity

This probably isn't a big surprise to anyone, because it's probably true for a lot of us.  This may not sound like a big hurdle to some, but for me, it really is.  I've never been an active person.  The most activity I ever got in school, besides P.E., was dance team practices and walking to school to get to my early class - Jazz Choir.  For many years, I had a job in which I sat at a desk and used my brain much more than my body, and yet I still felt exhausted by it at the end of the day.  Then I would feel exhausted just thinking about it in the morning, dragging my butt out of bed to go to work again.  So the last thing I felt like doing was expending more energy than I absolutely had to, in order to keep getting a paycheck, getting dinner on the table, and getting my house (relatively) clean.  Most of my down-time was occupied with things like movies, games, hand-held hobbies like needlepoint, and reading.  

There have been times in which I've managed to stay active for one reason or another.  I lost a few pounds when working at a fast food joint because I had to ride my bike to get there.  I managed some kind of workout nearly every day when my husband was stationed temporarily away from where we lived, because I wanted to keep my mind off of loneliness, and maybe surprise him by dropping a few pounds before he got back.  A couple of times I took a bellydance class, and actually managed daily practice of it, as well.  And if I had a walking partner, I managed to go three times a week, walking some killer hills at a local wilderness park.  But all of these were transitory.  They were something I went through, the circumstances under which they happened eventually went away, or I went away from them.  They weren't part of my life.  They were either something I tried, a means to an end, or I pinned all of my interest in doing them onto someone else.  

Then, I had children.  Parents know, if you have children, you are active!  But unfortunately, it isn't always in a way that actually gives your body the exercise that it needs.  Chasing after a toddler isn't the same as running or walking a mile.  Drowning in snotrags and baby baths isn't the same as swimming a few laps.  And yes, you could strap junior into a stroller for a nice little walk.  Unless junior has other ideas, and you give up after 10 minutes of stopping every five steps to replace a pacifier or re-tuck a blanket.  And that's if you have any energy, after the last round of breast-wrestling/feeding and your most recent foray into trying to tackle Mt. Laundry.  Even now that the kids are bigger, and able to take care of themselves more often, there's still so much to do that I can never catch up on it all.  So over time, I started trying to conserve my energy for the things that I needed it for the most.  This, as it turns out, was not a good idea.  All it did was to send me on a gentle, downward spiral of not having enough energy to exercise because I was not exercising.  

Intellectually, I knew this was happening.  I would tell myself that I needed to exercise to eventually have more energy.  Sometimes I would actually even do it for a time.  But I never kept it up, and I could never figure out why.  But when I went into the doctor and she told me that I am Type-2 diabetic, and that I need to change my inactive lifestyle in order to get more healthy and live longer, something changed.  It's not that I want to do it anymore, I have to.  I don't just know that I need to be more active, I feel it.  As I mentioned in my main blog, 30 minutes of walking outside every day is somehow easier to stick to when your doctor prescribes it.  Now, when I go out to walk, I can think more effective and inspirational thoughts. 

"Go walk today.  You'll live longer, and be around longer for your kids."

"If you keep up your walking, you will have more energy to do the things you need to, and maybe even have some left over for the things you want to do, as well!"

"If you keep hiking up and down the hill behind your house, you could get in good enough shape to go backpacking sometime."

"Walking on different terrain is good for your balance, and could help strengthen your ankles."

"Go mow the lawn.  It'll count as a walk if you do it for more than 30 minutes, and you'll get to cross something off your list!"

Now, I did say that it's easier.  I did not say that it's easy.  Even now, I don't manage to walk or workout every day.  This last week I took several days off after I twisted my ankle, to let it recover, so I don't make it worse.  Some days I have too many errands to run, or school functions to attend.  And some days, I just don't get my butt moving early enough in the day to fit it in.  But most days I manage to get a walk in.  Some days it's more strenuous than others.  Some days I barely manage a gentle stroll.  Some days I go a bit longer than 30 minutes.  Some days I pause in the middle to get a drink of water.  But if I miss a day, I try to make sure to go the next day.  If I miss two days, I don't let the guilt make me give up on myself.  And I try to realize when I'm being active, and give myself some credit.  

- Pushing the lawn mower around, and especially up and down the hill, or around the trees, counts.

- Walking halfway down the parade route, around the area of the street fair, and then back up the hill to where we parked, counts.

- Walking up and down the driveway and around the yard for a half hour picking a dandelion and crabgrass salad for the chickens, counts.  

- Walking a couple of blocks to pick up the child from the bus or get the mail...okay, maybe that doesn't quite count as a whole workout, but it does help a bit, in the grand scheme of things.

It also helps that my hubby got us both a fitbit device.  It not only tracks how many steps that you take in a day, but also the duration in which you were very active, and therefore burning a goodly amount of calories.  In addition to being able to track how well I'm doing, it also gives me a bit of friendly competition with my hubby and other friends!

Eventually, I may have to change my workout method.  I may need something more strenuous to keep getting fitter and stronger.  I may get bored of walking, and want to add other things to my routine.  The weather will turn on me at some point, and I may find fighting the elements or using the treadmill to be uninspiring or less than desirable.  But for now, it's working for me, and it's certainly more than I was doing before.  And any improvement is a good step in the right direction, as long as I keep it going.

My Steps to Health and Fitness: Beginning

I've definitely put aside my own health and fitness over the years, for many reasons.  Rather than list them here, I'm just going to look forward.  This is what I'm doing to improve my health and extend my life.  This is for my own good, and for the good of my whole family.  This is not a diet or a fitness boot camp.  This is the slow path, making changes I can live with, because I'm not going to change back.  This is the road to a new, healthier, happier me.

Changing my life - Getting healthy again one step at a time

I haven't really posted about this online, but a couple of months ago I went in to the doctor, regarding a number of minor health concerns.  Having a physical done is something I've put off for a very long time, it just never seems to be a priority.  But I'm not as active as I should be, tired most of the time, overweight, out of shape, ect.  Nothing new, just all of those things that slowly creep up on you over time.  But considering all of this, and upon discovering that I haven't really menstruated in about a year, my husband finally asked me to go in for a checkup.

So I went in, they poked and prodded me, and asked me every question under the sun.  When the results came back, some were surprising, but most were kind of expected.  I wasn't surprised that the doctor asked me to get some exercise, and thinks it's important that we get my weight down.  I haven't had any other symptoms, but it was possible I could have gone through early menopause, but it was too soon to tell about that.  My doctor thinks I may have sleep apnea, since I always felt tired, no matter how much sleep I'd gotten, but she wanted to wait on ordering a sleep study until my full physical.

Most of the surprises came after the blood work.  The nice surprise was that my cholesterol is normal, which is good.  The not-so-nice surprises were that my blood sugar and my blood pressure are both too high.  We're monitoring my blood pressure, hoping it will come down as my activity goes up, and my weight comes down.  But the biggest concern was that my blood sugar puts me in the low range for Type 2 Diabetes.  My doctor decided to start me on medication for it, since that may also help jump start my weight loss, along with diet and exercise changes.  But if things go well, hopefully I eventually won't need the medication for it.

Somehow, 30 minutes of walking outside every day is easier to stick to when your doctor prescribes it.  Big difference between thinking, "I really should get some exercise and lose some weight, to get back into the cute clothes that I miss wearing," and thinking, "I really need to get some exercise so that I can live longer, and don't die too soon."  I don't manage to do it every day, but I have been on most days, which is still a vast improvement from what I did (or rather, didn't do) before.

The dietary changes haven't been easy, but they have been easier than I thought they'd be.  Mostly, I've been increasing the fresh produce that I eat, and avoiding foods that have a lot of sugars in them, including simple carbs.  I'm working on controlling my portions, except for fresh veggies and high-fiber fruits, which I can pretty much have as much as I want of.  But I'm also trying to pay attention to when I get full, and avoid snacking when I'm bored.  Again, I'm not always very good about it, but certainly better than before, and I'm not dieting.  I'm making changes that I can live with, because I plan for them to be permanent.

So, two months later, with diet changes, exercise, vitamin supplements (especially vitamin D) and metformin, things are definitely better!  Usually, when I try to start a new fitness program, I fall off of it after about a month.  So since I'm still at it after two months, I'm hopeful that I can keep going this time.  I've lost eight pounds each month, so sixteen pounds down since I started, I'm now at 262 lbs.  A long way to go, but heading in the right direction!  With the increased activity, I seem to be sleeping better, and having less fatigue during the day, although I can still fall asleep at the drop of a hat sometimes.  And last month I had an indication that I'm probably not going through menopause just yet.  I continue with my metformin, and start a low-dose aspirin each night, to help with the blood pressure.  Michael got me a fitbit device to help me keep track of how I'm doing on my activity level, and an electronic blood-pressure monitor so that I don't have to go into the Dr. office twice a week for that.  Hopefully I can keep it going, and will continue to feel better as I go.  :)

Checking It Out

So, I've been thinking of starting a blog for quite a while now.  But what to make?  What topic(s) should I cover?  Should I make more than one?  I asked for advice on fb and g+ for advice from friends who have blogged before, as far as which sites they have used, which they liked, disliked, and what about them made them feel that way.  There wasn't much, so my hubby suggested I try a personal and private blog here on Blogger, which is one of the only free options for web publishing a blog.  This way I can try it out, and see if the features will work for me, and what I want to do.  Also, It's very late, and I don't remember what else I was going say for now.  So I guess I'll pick this up again tomorrow.