The Journey

Very, very interesting! I could see myself in there in many ways. I don't have much of a willpower problem because I pre-plan and pre-structure most of my decisions upfront. I spent weeks asking myself if a life of chronic pain was all that I could expect and the answer was either yes (do nothing, continue to sit in the chair, gain weight - which only made my joints hurt more, and be the primary guest at my own pity party) or no (part of what I'm trying to do here).

I created The Plan and identified steps all along the way that would bring it to fruition before I ever left the starting block. I was going to follow an eating plan, walk every day, do 8MM every morning. I signed up for classes, made the decision to post here - pretty much ALL before starting down the path. Maybe that's why it took so long for me to get here - I had to have it all structured beforehand - and maybe that's why I'm having so much success with it.

I have used a trick in the past (haven't needed it this time) with regards to late night binging. I have a Kitchen Closed sign that I put on the kitchen door at 7:30 or 8:00, or some pre-determined time, after which I treat the kitchen as if I was going to a restaurant and finding that I was too late. Disappointed, maybe, but the decision had already been made for me and I didn't cave into lapses in willpower.

Another thing I saw in there was the constant decision making of being online or not while at work. I think cyclo and I probably spend as much time here as anyone during the workday and yet neither of us, I imagine, would say that being here distracts from our ability to get the job done. Just the opposite, actually. It's like the distraction of the workplace around everyone else. In some ways it's easier to be uber-productive in a normal work environment than it you bury yourself off in a corner - especially if you do that for hours and hours on end. Social breaks, for me at least, improve my productivity. Decision made - I'm staying.

Yep, social breaks are shown to improve productivity -- now where did I read that? Somewhere, if I remember I'll let you know.

Yeah, the lack of decision is a big part of why the workout buddy approach worked so well for me. We met at 1 PM on Monday Wednesday and Friday, full stop. No decision involved, and I wasn't going to leave her stranded was I?

Now I can go anytime. Not working.

But by saying here that I'll go the decision has been made, it's happening tomorrow. I better get a time in there too just to make things a bit safer. OK, 10 AM. Gym.

What a difference a day makes!

I woke up this morning with good energy and good motivation. The heat returns to Chicagoland today so I decided to get all of my exercises out of the way early. I did 8MM times two (biceps/triceps from yesterday and quads/hamstrings for today) and then a 30 min walk in the 'hood. My leg is feeling pretty good and I didn't have any twangs as I was walking on asphalt.

Soz, I noticed the time was 9:00 as I walked out the door, so if you made your 10:00 time then we were doing our workouts at the same time.

Another point that was made by the support folks on the diet plan was to make sure that I was eating enough total calories in addition to adding in back small amounts of fruit. I'm used to portion control as a way to lose/maintain weight and this is an elimination/all-you-can-eat plan which requires a different mindset. Sure enough, I doubled up on my portions from previous days and I feel MUCH better. I had

8oz FF plain yogurt with lemon juice, stevia, 1T oat bran, and raspberries (4) for breakfast
a double serving of spaghetti squash with meat sauce for lunch
8oz FF plain yogurt with lemon juice, stevia, 1T oat bran, and blueberries (6) for snack
a double serving of Italian chicken and escarole soup for dinner (hold the pasta and cheese in my portion)
2 qts water-based liquids

Previously, I would have had about half the amounts of yogurt and single servings of lunch and dinner.

I made it!!!

Thank you JPB, that's been one of those things that I've been meaning to do for, I don't want to even calculate because it would be depressing, probably at least two months. But everyday life intervenes. It's way too easy to say "later" or "tomorrow."

Setting a specific time helped a lot I think, for example knowing that I'd be going to the gym pretty early I put my gym clothes on after my morning shower. (When I leave it vague, I put on regular clothes for the day and then changing is just one more small hurdle.) Then E.G.'s working from home today and started talking to me, that can drag on (I mean I like talking to him! just time-wise) and I looked at the clock and said "I can talk for a while but I have to be at the gym at 10." A few more things like that, where if I didn't have the time set I could easily have drifted through the day without getting there.

Gym workout itself was awesome, I pushed myself but not ridiculously, feel fine as of now.

Glad you're having a good day too!

Great! Yay, soz!!!

Do either of you, JPB and sozobe, have neighbors/friends who can join you?

It's such a motivation when you have someone else who works out with you,
and it's hard to slack off as everyone has a commitment to the others to
show up and work out.

I go to the gym 4 times per week with my neighbors and sometimes I would
just like to skip when I am too lazy, but I would feel bad leaving the others hanging, so I go anyway and always feel better afterwards that I did.

We (4 ladies) have always tons of things to talk about so time goes by so
fast and it makes the workout much more enjoyable.

I used to walk 4 miles M-F with my neighbor. We'd meet at the bus stop, wait for the bus with the kids, and then head out for our walk. I'd get back here by 9:00 and put in a full day at the office. It was GREAT!

Then our kids got older, we stopped taking them to the bus but we'd still walk most days.

Then she reentered the work force part time and we walked less often.

Then she reentered the work force full time and we hardly walk together at all - sometimes on weekends.

Yeah, it does make a big difference.

I don't mind walking by myself. I live in a wooded area and there all sorts of seasonal changes to watch along my path. Motivating myself to do it is another thing all together.

Otherwise, around here.... no, not really.

good job girlies!


you may be in different cities - but 'eh, the power of cyber-posivibing-support-encouragement-incentive-stuff.

Chuffed for the pair of you. xx

But ~~~ I do have a friend who is a member at the same health club. She doesn't live nearby but, depending on when she usually goes, I could try to be there at the same time. Dunno that we'd do workouts together - she probably has a much different workout routine than mine - but it might work out. I'll give her a call.

CJ, I'm working on that. I had a workout buddy for about 3 years (?) -- we met when our kids were in kindergarten, and then we ran into each other at a local gym and complained about it (the gym), and then we started meeting at the track to run/ walk, and became better friends as we did that. Then once we were good friends we moved to a new gym together and met frequently (first three, then four times a week).

Then she moved to another state last year.

It was an ideal situation, and I definitely was spoiled. She was a perfect match in terms of not only personality (she's awesome) but we're both former jocks who like to REALLY work out, and don't care if we're all sweaty and grunty and gross. And we were in similar shape throughout (started pretty sad, then by doing the same workouts we got into similarly better shape) so we could stick right by each other in terms of speed, duration, stuff like that. That's one of the trickiest things, I've found. I don't like having to hold back from my maximum, and I don't like not being able to keep up. It's hard to find someone who's right there with you.

Plus there's the whole communication thing. My friend is one of those people who is absolutely no problem for me to understand. She's naturally expressive, and very empathetic/ observant. She got within a week or so how to best get my attention, how to rephrase something if I do get stuck, all of the little things that make communication easier for me. We fell into a really good rhythm of doing gym exercises (focusing) and then chatting in between.

It's really tough for me to do any sort of exercise and communicate at the same time. Some people I like have suggested that we walk together, I might try again but it's so hard for me to do -- we can't just both face forward, I have to look at them and I'm always paranoid I'm going to trip or whack into something (with reason! ) Walking on the track is easier because I can trust that there won't be any obstacles, but walking on the track is pretty boring.

Anyway, I've done a good workout routine solo in the past (three years in CA), if I can just get to the point where it's a routine I should be fine. This is helping!

That's promising!

I've run into someone at the gym too who I barely know, it's a little weird to figure out how to progress. Her daughter is older than mine, but they were on the same softball team one year. That's the sum total of how I know her, but we always smile and usually chat for a short time when we see each other. We'll see.

[edit: I changed the link to a more informative page]

Here's another link for those of you wanting to investigate non-traditional heart-health care: http://www.lownfoundation.org/index.html

Lown is a small cardiovascular center which my father started going to after years of tinkering with exercise, diet and meds. While he's not off all of his meds, he's reduced or eliminated some. He's fine-tuned his diet (light on carbs, high on frutis and vegies, and with moderate lean protein intake). They've been a great help to him and that has been a great help to the rest of our family. I think they offer a newsletter.

Well, it's worth a try. Sometimes it's not so much having someone to talk to throughout the workout, for me it's basically knowing that there is someone waiting for me and I better show up!! That's important, as I can easily talk myself out of going at all. The real cliff hanger for me!

Yes, I can imagine that it is hard for you to work out while trying to lip read the other person. Sorry, I forgot that you have a tremendous hurdle to
overcome in addition to finding a suitable workout partner. Well, there is always the dog you could take for a run perhaps some of your neighbors could lend you their Fido?

Thanks, lk. Great site with a good approach to better living. I scrolled through the publications listing and the very top one caught my eye.



Coping with anxiety is another huge component of healthier living. I'll be printing that one out.

Just sent my friend an email to see about meeting at the club one day next week. There's an in-club TGTBY that has salads and sandwiches as well as their yogurts. I proposed that we plan a workout for some morning and then meet for lunch afterward.

Cool, so when's your next workout?

I was just thinking the same! Let's make it Tuesday at 10 AM.

Great!

I probably won't be going at the same time though. We bring M back to school that day. Three flights of stairs 42 times might be my workout for the day.

So - the peddler thingy arrived. I like it! It's small, lightweight, and low. I won't be using it in the office because The Chair is set high for my desk height. I don't mess with the setting on The Chair. I tried it in the living room using an arm chair and it was fine. I'll try it downstairs with the couch later.

Very easy assembly. I took it out of the box, pulled the legs into place, screwed in the adjustment knob, pulled the battery saver tab and peddled. It wants a level floor surface. My old hardwood floors in the LR aren't exactly level. I think the newer floors downstairs will be better. I was able to set the tension knob pretty tight so I'm not sure it would go tight enough for someone with quads of steel but I was able to get some decent resistance. What else...? The footrest is kinda narrow, maybe 1.5-2". I was barefoot and my foot wanted a wider footpad. It's probably fine with a shoe. It comes with foot straps, but I hate those things so I was using the underside of the footpad. There's a four function counter (rpms, cals, time, count) that keeps track of your activity. I picked it up from the center as soon as I finished my tryout and the shaft was hot from the energy. I'll let it sit for a few minutes next time.

Overall, it's going to be fine for what I want and for less than $50 it's great.

It's HOT here today but my friend and I did a 3 mile loop through the paths at the Morton Arboretum. Wonderful spot. We were in the shade most of the time and we were done by noon so we escaped the worst of the heat. The best part was that all the paths are mulched! My leg was very happy and it's the only reason I was able to do three miles.

Today's 8MM was calves and butt - did those before I left this morning.

The long holiday weekend has a couple traps for me food wise, but I'll figure it out. Lunch out today was delicious. I had a ceviche and a salad. I stopped and picked up some fresh red snapper and shrimp to grill for dinner and my weekly CSA box of fruits and veggies is due to arrive any minute. Lots of seafood and veggies today.

Overall I'm doing and feeling pretty good.

Oh that's great! You did well today and that paddler thing should be fairly easy to work on. I haven't even ordered one yet - I still have a elliptical in the house that's dusting away, so I rather go to the gym and use the stationary bike there.

Your food choices were good ones too, JPB, can't go wrong with fish!
Enjoy your long weekend!