Continuing the Journey

Wow it's been over a month since I've posted!  The journey is ongoing and as with everything in life some days and weeks are better than others.  So here's a peek at what and how I'm doing.

December 26 was the day.  Remember this prescription was a class project and it was due the end of November and my daughter wouldn't be home until Christmas break.  That week before Christmas was busy so we decided to get started after Christmas.  My daughter gave me the paper to read.  The calculations didn't look any better when printed out in a neatly organized paper than they had when they were hand written in the lab.  Well, you can't argue facts and I knew what was there were facts so I may as well face the facts and see what I could do about it.  And besides the data that had been collected, I couldn't ignore the fact that I wasn't able to do what I wanted to be able to do.  So I read or skimmed through all the background information and then got to the actual plan.  My prescription to better physical wellness.

To accomplish my goals, which were converted to SMART goals, I would need to a two fold approach focusing on both cardio and strength training.  I would do three days a week on cardio and three days a week on strength.  Six days a week I spend between 45 minutes and an hour working out.  The workouts were designed to use equipment that we have here at home so I can't use the excuse that I can't get to the gym.  If I can walk down to the basement, I can do it.  It is amazing the number of distractions I can find in those few short steps!  Consistency is key but life gets in the way and more often than not, I get in my way.

The strength training right now is a basic total body workout.  My core was exceptionally weak so there is a focus on that but I am working arms and legs, too.  And getting a workout put together by someone who is truly educated is good because the workouts are balanced.  So that means if I work on my quads, then I work on my hamstrings.  Work on the biceps and work on the triceps.  My goals are not to look good but to function as well as possible.  I know that this plan will help me do that.  As a bonus, I will look better because a strong, healthy body looks better than an overweight, out of shape body or even a skinny fat body. 

I am happy to report that in the two months, I have made noticeable progress.  I am able to do more weight or more reps on each of the strength training exercises.  The speed and duration of my cardio workouts have both improved.  I am noticing that my clothing is fitting better and I have lost 14 pounds since that weigh in during the initial assessment.

Walking steps in not a problem anymore.  In fact, the other day I walked up a flight of steps carrying 2 toddlers and it was easy.   And when I genuflected on Sunday, my knee touched the floor and didn't hurt!! I'm pleased that I don't have to limit what I do based on whether or not it's going to hurt.   I am happy to start feeling more like myself.  That is really the encouragement that I needed.

I have a long way to go before I am actually in shape and healthy but I am so much closer than I was six months ago.  I continually need to refocus on eating healthy and not consume so many empty calories.  Gradually, this is improving and I am more aware everyday that this is within my control.  I need to schedule my workouts so that I don't run out of time during the day to get them in.  I need to constantly work on moving from being interested in being healthy and in shape to being committed to be healthy and in shape.  But each healthy choice I make moves me one step closer to my goals.

The Journey.... Getting the numbers

So I had my reality check and my motivation and had committed to my daughter to be her test subject for her exercise prescription class.  The thought of getting back into shape, really in shape was so exciting to me.   During the weeks between my first offer and when we were actually able to schedule my time in the lab, there were multiple conversations and my daughter was very clear about what was involved.

However, focusing on details isn't necessarily a strong point for me.  I see the big picture really well, I can visualize projects with the best of them but thinking through details is something I often gloss over while I'm making plans.  And as the date for my assessment approached, I realized that I had chosen to ignore a few details.  I am fairly certain that I chose to ignore these particular details because my "why?" for this project was so strong.  I wanted to be strong and independent for a very long time.  I didn't want to be a burden to my children.  Having a strong "why" is always important because it can get you through the parts of a journey that are uncomfortable or difficult and that was true for me in this situation.

To actually get myself into shape, I needed my daughter to do an exercise prescription for me.   In order for her to be able to determine the exercises that I would need to get started on this journey, I would need to undergo a complete physical assessment.   We found a date and time for that to happen.  I was committed and I told everyone, whether they wanted to know or not.  For the first time in decades I was looking forward to being in shape, not just losing weight, not just being able to run a 5K but actually being strong and fit and healthier than ever.

All this sounds good and it was.  But when I actually arrived and went with my daughter over to the lab, I could no longer ignore the reality of the situation.  In order to truly assess my fitness level there would be a weigh in, calibers, tape measures, and exercises and the lifting of weights and the results of everything would be recorded on paper.  UGH!!!! Measurements, weight, BMI are not things I EVER like to find out but to have my daughter find out and actually be the person to share this information with me was a very humbling thought.  And that is why I refused to think about it until it was actually happening.

The numbers-- BMI, weight, ratios-- were far worse than I had thought they would be and placed me at a relatively high risk for health issues.  When I had my latest blood work done for my annual physical, the results all came back in the normal or good range.  Now that I was getting these assessment results from this very professional and competent exercise science student I couldn't pretend anymore.  I had been dodging a bullet and I had to face the facts.  I was obese and weak and reached my max heart rate WAY too soon.  Looking at the results of the tests (some of which I couldn't even begin much less complete) and then thinking about my family health history, it was a very rude awakening.

If I didn't make changes and make them soon, I would be looking at a life filled with doctor appointments, prescriptions, tests, and constantly watching numbers.  Remaining independent would be a struggle and I would quickly become one of those very old 50 somethings who struggle to do every day activities. And I would have no one to blame but myself.  By turning a blind eye to my unhealthy habits and ignoring the things I could no longer do, I was essentially sentencing myself to a quality of life that would not allow me to live the dreams I have for my future.  If I had looked closely at what this assessment was going to entail and reveal to me, then I quite possibly would have chickened out.  I don't know if I would have been strong enough to go through with it.  Fortunately for me, I had committed to someone who means the world to me.  I had given myself no choice and for that I am truly grateful. Yes, the reality of both the assessment and my physical condition were very humbling and quite embarrassing. But by going through with it and getting these I have been given the gift of knowledge and truth and a way to change the course of my life. And for that I am very grateful.

The Journey: my inspiration part 1

I always imagined that I would be able to be independent for decades to come.  My Grandma Rhyner has always been my role model for this.  She was always busy, always doing things, accomplishing things that she enjoyed.  She sold Avon for decades (like 6 of them) and she sewed.  She took in sewing during the depression to supplement the family's income.  She could make a winter coat for a woman by just taking her measurements.  And she lived in Green Bay, WI so when she made a winter coat, it had to be warm and really stand up to the elements. She would take the measurements, make a pattern, then make the coat. Later in life, she mostly sewed quilts.  She made quilts for everyone in the family.  Between me and my kids, I think we still have close to a dozen Great-Grandma quilts around the house.  And she donated quilts to the missions.  She was the roll lady at the Cathedral in Green Bay for decades.  Meaning she was in charge of arranging the coffee and rolls after masses.  I admired her because she found things she liked to do and did them.  She enjoyed her life and she was productive and charitable.  And in my late teens and twenties, I loved sitting at her dining room table or in her sewing room, chatting for hours.  Her generosity was admirable but what impressed me was  she lived at home, taking care of herself until she was 86 years old.  The last couple of months, things were a bit more difficult but still she could take care of herself.  She got sick just a couple of months after my daughter was born and died just a couple of weeks later.    I was happy that my daughter was able to lay in her arms for a while before she left us but I was so sad that she was gone.

My goal was to live like my Grandma.  She did her own laundry in her basement laundry room until she died. The first Avon order she missed in nearly 60 years was due the day she died. She could do all the everyday things she needed to.  So when I started noticing that, at 52, I couldn't kneel as easily as I thought I should be able to or get up as quickly and easily as I wanted, I knew that living as independently as Grandma had was not going to be possible if I didn't do something soon.  I had two choices:  give up on a goal that I've had for more than half my life or get to work and make some major changes.  I'm choosing to make changes.  Thanks for reading about my journey.  My hope in sharing this journey is that you will find the motivation within yourself to make the changes needed to be a healthier version of yourself.  So don't just read what I'm doing, if you need to make some changes, join me on this journey.  Leave a comment below so we can encourage each other.  

The Journey Begins

The journey that I am referring to here is my journey to fitness.  Somehow, one day I woke up and was 52, overweight, and pathetically out of shape.  If I'm going to divulge the negatives, I will allow myself to brag a bit.  I do walk for an hour 5 mornings a week with my husband and our dog.  These are not strolls through the neighborhood:  there is sweat and the heart rate is increased.  I can still pick up the 55 pound bag of dog food from the pallet at Sam's Club, put in the cart and get it into the car by myself.    And I have not, as yet, had to go to any specific plus sized stores or departments.  My blood work has always come back in the good or OK range.  No prescriptions at this time. So for a while, it was easy to pretend I was doing OK.

If you have read this blog over time, you know that I've lost both my parents already.  Each of them had significant health issues.  Some issues just were the "luck of the draw" so to speak, while others were definitely the result of lifestyle decisions and perhaps a bit of denial.  I was blessed to spend a lot of time with my parents as their health declined.  One piece of insight from that time, is that you can only fool yourself and others for only so long about being in shape or being healthy.  At some point, the facade will start crumbling and the only thing left is the truth.

So even while I was happy with the results of the blood work, I knew I couldn't ignore the decrease in my strength and ability to do things I had always done.  I lettered in sports 5 times in high school and three times in college.  I hiked mountains in Europe.  Now it was almost embarrassing to admit that I had been an athlete.  I could not do a real, touch the floor genuflect in church without holding onto a pew, kneeling down and getting up while gardening took a bit too much effort, standing from the middle cushion of a deep couch took too much effort and had to be almost comical to watch while I pretended that I was handling it effortlessly.  And let's not talk about stairs, especially if I was carrying things. I couldn't pretend any longer.  I had to do something.

But what to do?  I knew enough to know that I didn't know enough to do it on my own. I had walked away from my job so there wasn't much (or any) disposable income sitting around for a gym and a good trainer.   That's where I was in my fitness journey one evening when my daughter called for a chat.  She is an athletic trainer and graduate assistant working toward her master's degree in exercise science.  Fortunately for me she is taking exercise prescription this semester and needed a volunteer for  a case study.  This was it!  I was so excited that I would have someone who actually knew what she was doing and could get me back to being able to do everything I wanted to.  I immediately volunteered to be the subject of her case study.

So that was step one.  A journey of a thousand miles, right?  I'm excited to say that we've taken the next couple steps and those posts will be coming in the near future.  Is it easy? NO!! Am I more than a little annoyed with myself for getting this weak and out of shape?  Absolutely!  But you know what?  I am pretty stinking proud of myself for admitting that I needed to make changes and acting on that.  What are you ignoring or pretending doesn't need to change?  Today could be the start of a thousand miles for you.