Computer woes

My computer crashed the day before we left for vacation. What a pain.

I was able to restore most of my important files...client work, music and photos. Thank goodness for back-up services.

We had a very nice vacation and I will post pictures soon.

I am going to physical therapy three times a week. What I thought was a problem with my knee turns out to be my pelvis and hip. My left side is out of alignment which is causing my knee pain. The therapists are working with me with stretches, assisted stretches, exercises, massage and ice.

I feel worse than I did before...LOL! I am on restricted work outs until I heal so I am postponing my personal training for now. Figures...just when I get in a good plan...BOOM! I can still do light cardio and some light weights for upper body so it's better than nothing. I am tightening up my nutrition to keep things balanced.

I 'm off to ice my back....sigh!

Almost on vacation

I am on vacation in 2 days and I am looking forward to it. Just busy crazy as usual...work!
I trained twice with my trainer. The first work out was so tough...push ups and pull ups off the barbell rack...ouch! I felt it for three days!

I found out Monday that I have "patella femoral syndrome" or "Runner's knee". My left knee had been gradually bothering me more and more. My doc examined my knee, heard some popping and sent me for an x-ray. Now I have to start physical therapy.

My trainer worked my legs yesterday and it was good...we avoided bending and worked on quads and hams. BUT shortly after the workout my muscle above the knee went numb and tingly. SO the trainer wants to hold off to when I get back from vacation and to let my doc know about it.

Great! Just when I was getting in the groove. No worries...I won't let it set me back.

Until then....I'll be on a Mexican beach sipping margaritas....but I will be bringing my workout stuff with me. My ass is not on vacation!

New Things on the Horizon

A package was delivered by the mailman today...it's the Dish's new meds. He'll start LDN tonight! The only side effect that he may encounter the first week is vivid dreams or nightmares. Today may be the start of good things for him. I'm tweaking his diet just a bit. The doctor recommends the SWANK diet which is an MS diet. Basically a diet low in saturated fat and red meat...high in veggies, fruit, lean protein and whole grains and good fats...olive oil, nuts, etc. I'm really hoping that the doctor can convince him to start getting some exercise. Because he has such a physical job, he's too tired to workout when he gets home BUT that doesn't mean he doesn't need it. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I know I can get him to at least take a bike ride with me!

This morning I interviewed a personal trainer! I've NEVER trained with a trainer before. I intended to interview a few trainers but I really liked her and she has such similar health views as me such as nutrition, weight training and yoga. PLUS she is funny and we were already laughing and joking around BUT she knew how to get us back on focus too!

I, of course, went back and forth in my head as to whether I should even spend money on this as with the way the economy is going, I feel the need to be frugal. But then I thought, this is an investment in myself. I NEED to lose more weight and I am stuck. I'm only going to train with her twice a week for a month and then assess it from there...both financially and how I progress.

I've been doing the fitness thing for so long by myself and the trainer was very impressed by how much I know, what I eat, how I workout, etc. I just need some fine tuning and to kick it up a BIG notch. I'm sure I have not pushed myself to the limits. Sure, I made great progress with lifting weights and I workout to a good sweat and feel like I've done something. But to really push it...I really don't know how to do that. So what better way than to try out a trainer? At the very least, I want her to check out my form...why lift if I'm not doing it correctly? She is also going to make cardio fun! huh? Plyometrics, kick boxing, circuits...oh my!

I start this Thursday!

Other good news, with the Recovery package, I am being swarmed with consulting requests! Wow! That's a good thing...I'm going to need the work to afford the training. Seriously, I feel very blessed.

It's a big deal to me!

This year instead of setting new year's resolutions on losing weight, I set my sights on developing healthy habits for both nutrition and fitness. If you have healthy habits then it will result in a healthier body and thus a smaller size. That's my new philosophy anyways.

So four weeks into the new year and I am doing well. I have not, and will not, weigh myself. The scale and I have never been friends. I did take measurements in December and I plan on doing that monthly. My biggest gauge is my pants and they are getting looser so that's good.

My nutrition has been really good. I am eating 5 - 6 times a day...clean and balanced. I do have a cheat meal once a week. Weekends are more of a challenge because we usually have something social going on but I am doing my best. This weekend we went to my husband's cousin's daughter's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese...a child's dream place and an adult's nightmare...LOL! When it came time for cake, I knew what was going to happen. Why is it a sin to refuse cake? Especially if it's cake that I don't even like. If I'm going to waste calories, it's not going to be on something I don't like. Yes, I am becoming a calorie snob. Especially on a treat. So my husband's family is pushing cake and I'm using all of the excuses "I'm full!" "Maybe later". Geesh! Why do folks get insulted if you don't have the cake? I stuck to my guns...no cake!

Now the good part. It's no big deal but I'm just happy! I am working on my push-ups! Not on the knees but real push-ups. I train upper body twice a week and lower body twice a week. On upper body days, I'm working on three sets of push-ups. I am currently reading "The New Rules Of Lifting for Women" and it suggests doing push-ups at all levels: wall, step, ball, floor. So I started doing them on my stairs. First I got up to 3 set of 15 on the fourth stair from the bottom, then worked to 3 set of 15 on third stair and last week I did three sets of 8 on the second stair! Yes! I am getting stronger and that makes me feel so good to see even the smallest progress. So I will work on these until I can do 15 and then start mixing in push-ups on the first stair and soon I'll be doing them on the floor! Baby steps but I am lifting heavier weights than I ever have and my HIIT cardio is improving as well.

Building healthy habits one step (yes, a pun!) at a time!

The lessons I have learned - Part 1

I am a big fan of the Biggest Loser. I like the fact that it shows that with proper nutrition and exercise, you can lose weight. No magic pills..no quick fix. Well obviously the show is an exaggerated version of fitness. You, too, would be successful if you trained for 6 hours a day and had someone prepare your meals...micro nutrient perfection. BUT it is indeed a testimony as to what can be done.

This season really hits home. These contestants are the heaviest in the show's history with the heaviest woman weighing in at 379. The significance is that it is a snapshot of our country's population and our country's obesity problem...or shall I say epidemic? It is epidemic in that the obesity epidemic is slowly lowering our life expectancy rate. We as adults may live longer than our children and there is something very disturbing and wrong about that.

I have a fought my weight my entire life. I am finally coming to terms with where I have failed. Not in failing to to lose weight but for failing to make my health my number one priority. Never before has it become more clear that it's never been about food but the lack of balance in my life. That is Lesson #1...find your balance! Not to quote Oprah but I could totally relate to what she's said on her show last week and in her webcast.

What bothers me about Oprah's new quest for health is the the marketing ploy that comes with the message. I applaud her efforts to take care of herself and her honesty about "falling off the wagon". I think she has a good plan..both for fitness and for nutrition BUT there is no one-size-fits all diet or workout plan for anyone. That is lesson #2...find what works for you! They will sell many of Bob's (her trainer) books because people look up to Oprah and take her advice to the "T". Maybe that is a good thing BUT you have to find what works for you.

It is trial and error to find out how many calories you need to eat, how much protein you need, how many calories you need to burn, etc. I'm still learning and I need to re-evaluate every month such as changing my weight training routine every 4 weeks or seeing where I can improve my nutrition.

That brings me to Lesson #3..be consistent. When I took a shot at this last year I got some good advice. Give it some time! Don't quit even if you fall...get back up! It took 4 weeks to see some real results but it was working. I did lose weight abut then I got stuck.

These are my lessons but I share them because I had read other people's lessons and it really helped me find my own. I'm here, I'm doing this and I am in this for life. Even if I just lose a pound a month there will be no turning back. Which brings me to Lesson #4 Reward progress not perfection!

To be continued.....

Validation

So a new JournalSpace was born this morning. WOW! It's a bit different but there is a Home page and some cool features. If they offer up a fav's only feature, I will be way happy. For now, I am keeping this blog for health and fitness stuff and I will use JS for life and stuff that I used to. I was not planning on having two blogs but I am keeping my options open.

I did got othat holiday party yesterday and I DID NOT have any alcohol. Yes, I did indulge in some party fare but in moderation. I was so proud of myself and I even worked out in the morning. I still had fun..LOL! and when I was leaving, the host and my dear friend, pulled me to the side and told me" You look really great! What every you are doing, keep doing it."

Validation! YES1

No excuses when you have this!

This is a panoramic view of my home gym...weight set (a gift from my hubby on the left, elliptical and treadmill
This is the weight bench set...it is sweet! It barely clears the ceiling.

I have a complete gym so I have no excuses not to work out. Up until about June last year, I was working out here about 5 times a week. The best streak I had was when I was getting up early, before the kiddies woke up, and getting my workout done first thing. For some reason, summer is harder for me to hit the weights. Then in July I discovered Power Yoga! Love it...it's a full body workout...intense and in a heated room...a good sweat. Throughout the summer, I was going to yoga about 3 times a week, biking and keeping up with the kiddies.

I'm still going to yoga about twice a week. And last month I got my ass back in gear and back in to my weight training routine. I really have no excuses. Any excuse I can come up with will now be deemed "LAME". Even If I just have 20 minutes, I can get so much done.

My January routine:
weight training 3x per week - Push day/ Pull day/ Leg day
Cardio HIIT training on treadmill or elliptical - 3x per week
Power yoga - 2 x per week

I'm back to clean eating again and I feel so much better. It's a good start!