Oh and Friday at work I found out I'm getting a $1.25 hour raise plus (drum roll) a $2,000 dollar bonus. That's awesome and totally surprising especially with the economy the way it is. I have a great boss and excellent coworkers.
Yum! Our boysenberries are starting to show colour and I'm thinking vanilla protein powder and frozen berries sound really good. I know, silly to freeze fresh berries, but they blend up better than ice cubes.
My shake wasn't the healthy kind. It was really good though. We have an ice cream shop in town and they have really good burgers and their shakes are good. I rarely have them though as I'd rather have the burger.
On a side note apparently the kids on the Japan trip are chosing to eat at McDonald's and Starbucks while in Tokyo. I found that kind of funny go halfway around the world and eat at McDonalds. Typical teenagers although I suppose they could be a little homesick. I know this is Rachel's first time away from Mom and Dad for an extended period of time. Although yesterday apparently two of the kids braved a Japanese restaurant with the teacher--one of them was my daughter. Yeah Rach. Anyway they are headed to the boonies now and I think they're spending the first two days on a farm of some sort. I do know the teacher is hoping to get some veggies down them.
Mowed the front inside the fence. It was a big job as it hasn't been done much since the fracture. Took me close to 2 hours so got some decent activity in today. My foot is sore tonight but definately was a lot worse a couple weeks ago. I'm glad of that. Feels good to be tolerating more activity. More mowing to do tomorrow and I've got some flower beds that need attention. I'm way behind. This really wasn't a good time to get hurt yardwork and housework wise. It sounds like the weather will hold for a while though.
Sometimes when I am on a foreign trip I will eat the first couple meals at MacDonalds. If you are really beat from the travel and lack of sleep, disoriented in a strange city it can take several hours to get acclimated.
Sometimes when I am on a foreign trip I will eat the first couple meals at MacDonalds. If you are really beat from the travel and lack of sleep, disoriented in a strange city it can take several hours to get acclimated.
Makes sense. I'm sure they're a little off kilter although it sounds like they are adjusting well. I've never really traveled much and never outside of the US or Canada. We got a longer email today from her. They actually had public computers available in rural Japan also. It's been tricky for her as the keyboard is in Japanese though. Didn't even think about that. We didn't want her to take her laptop as they are doing a lot of walking and they have to carry all of their own luggage. I'm excited for her. It's a good experience.
McDonalds in a foreign country is actually a pretty unique experience. While somewhat similar to this country there is often vast differences in the food quality and options. In Germany (and many other countries) you can order a beer with meal #4. LOL! I used to always try to hit the McDonalds when I traveled just for curiosity sake. Now I don't even visit them here.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
McDonalds in a foreign country is actually a pretty unique experience. While somewhat similar to this country there is often vast differences in the food quality and options. In Germany (and many other countries) you can order a beer with meal #4. LOL! I used to always try to hit the McDonalds when I traveled just for curiosity sake. Now I don't even visit them here.
I think I figured that one out when she said they had hotdogs for breakfast. Still cracks me up though. Thanks for stopping by my log. I read yours all the time.
June Overview
I can pretty much sum up June results in one word: maintenance. My GWF average burn for June was 2249. Average food intake unknown as I missed too many days logging my food. Measurements are unchanged. This is excellent actually considering I am now 6 weeks post foot injury/toe fracture. I was really surprised by how much one little toe can hurt and how much it affects your overall balance and general activity. I was worried I'd gain weight this month what with the decreased activity and increased stress.
My highest weight for 2009 was 253 so I'm down 10 lbs so far this year. A year ago I was actually a little over 260 lbs so have lost about 20 lbs this past year alltogether. I would prefer it be more but hey 20 lbs lost is 20 lbs lost. My progress may be slow but it is steady despite life's bumps and bruises. I'm coming to grips with the fact that I don't do well with strict dieting regimens and in the long run do better with a moderate and flexible approach. So I either need to quit griping about the slow results or learn to deal better with a stricter regimen.
Here are my stats for 2009 that I was using for the challenge.
Diana, don't underestimate your foot recovery. Congratulations on maintenance. Perhaps what dis-empowers you is that when you got injured, you minimized the effect, and didn't just declare June a maintenance/recovery/ take care of injury month. But you didn't realize it would impact you so.
So congrats on maintenance and you've had a nice high energy burn average considering
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the more expensive options that without this bonus we couldn't afford right now. There's pros and cons to each one for me and since they are both spendy I'm just not sure what I want to do.
How about checking Craig's list for the elliptical and then maybe you can do both ... I bought a schwinn basic model exercise bike (retail $350) for $125 in new condition via craig's list. I had checked out the models and features and cheapest store prices first, then watched on craig;s list and it didn't take long. Added about $10 for gas to pick it up... very satisfied with purchase
I'm not complaining about maintaining while injured it was what I was loosely aiming for.
Buying used isn't always the best option for us. We tend to hold on to things forever so even a little wear means we have to replace it sooner anyway. I haven't seen what I want in an elliptical on Freecycle or Craigs list anyway. The features I want are in the $1,000 price range and those aren't the ones people typically get rid of. Also ellipticals can vary so much in how the stride feels that finding one that I like used could take forever.
For the immediate future continueing to work out at home will get more overall hours of exercise in compared to the Y and at this point my ankle tolerates it. The only benefit to me for joining the Y would be the water aerobics. Switching to water activity earlier might possibly buy me a couple more years for the ankle before needing a fusion. And since the fusion would require me to be 100% non weight bearing for 4 to 6 months (and that's normal recovery--with my diabetes it could be longer) plus considering it's my r ankle which affects my ability to drive therefore my ability to get to work-- that's a huge consideration overall. Disadvantages of the Y--my asthma would be worse from the pool chemicals, I could only realistically get there 2 or 3 times a week, price is about double what other local gyms charge, and it's further away than I'd like. One minor benefit of the Y would be the cable and machines for weights which might give me more options for lower body weight training that wouldn't cause as much wear and tear on my ankle plus they'd have the ellipticals and other cardio machines. The Y charges $52 a month. I can get a basic gym membership with classes, cardio machines, free weights, machines and cables for less than $20 a month at several local gyms. So I kind of don't really want to spend $52 a month for a pool. On the other hand I'm not sure I want to spend $1,000 bucks since I'm going to end up crippled in a few years anyway.
The biggest short term advantage to me working out at home as long as I can is that I'm more likely to lose more weight overall as my results definately correlate with getting 5 to 6 days weekly of formal exercise. Plus it's my preferred method of exercise right now we're pretty well set up with nice home equipment the only thing showing wear and tear is my elliptical. I also have a proven track record with home workouts meaning I know I'll use it.
Anyway either one is a lot of money so don't intend to rush into a decision. I'm leaning towards purchasing the elliptical and switching to the pool when things get worse.
And since the fusion would require me to be 100% non weight bearing for 4 to 6 months (and that's normal recovery--with my diabetes it could be longer)
Not sure your situation but you know I had the calc slide and tendon transfer, not the fusion, but Apr 7 a co-worker had the fusion and I think he's doing well. Walking with crutches at 8 weeks. I understand your diabetes may slow recovery... Up to the 5th month I still had aches but was walking better each day. By 6 months the aches were gone, but foot is still swollen.
You probably know all this, but I'm surprised to hear your doctors say 100% non weightbearing for 4-6 months, a really long time..
Etana you're right--I looked back at my post after seeing the surgeon it's two to four months non weight bearing and up to six months immobilized and partial weight bearing though. So still a major surgery and impact on life and work. My last surgery was estimated to be 3 weeks off work and I was out 2 months and about a year recovering all together. Of course the problem there wasn't the surgery or the diabetes it was the damage the lose screws had previously done. I'm still a little gun shy though after that experience.
There's different ways to do the fusion. The recovery time estimate was coming from an ankle surgeon who does fusions not a podiatrist or regular ortho who would refer out and it was based on my current x-ray. Of course we're hopefully still a few years out from needing this so technology may change.
Hey, I'm impressed with the maintenance. Any time I stop tracking/logging it's pretty much a given that a gain will follow. So, maintaining is fantastic!
Hey, I'm impressed with the maintenance. Any time I stop tracking/logging it's pretty much a given that a gain will follow. So, maintaining is fantastic!
Thanks. I do ok eyeballing food for maintainence or for slow weight loss when I'm aiming for around 1700 calories. Tighter than that I need to log everything though.
Brief update. I've decided to give NRoLW a go. I've done Stage 1 A and B as written but with light weights or body weight only. I'll have to make some modifications to avoid taxing my ankle. For these two workouts it's the lunges that are problematic and have been a no no for a while. Usually stepups make a good substitute but since they are in workout A I'm not sure if I want to do those again in B. I've also noticed that for me these two workouts are very quad dominant and weak in the posterior chain as I currently need to use a lower step on the stepup to maintain form. My plan is to move the step ups to workout B and sub a posterior chain exercise into A instead of the stepups. I'll post more details once I work out the kinks.
Also did some cardio this week--kickboxing video.
With this activity plan I'm not going to try 1200 calories. My thoughts are to stick closer to 1500 which is a little bit lower than I've been eating in the past. (Previously averaging 1600-1800). It's definately a lot easier to manage sugars with the exercise. I've been running a bit higher than I'd like this past 6 weeks. I'm really glad the fracture is feeling better it's nice to be back to more normal activity.
I have decided not to post in the final challenge. I prefer competing with myself not others so will bow out now.
A couple of pics from Japan
My DD having a good time.
Brief update. I've decided to give NRoLW a go. I've done Stage 1 A and B as written but with light weights or body weight only. I'll have to make some modifications to avoid taxing my ankle. My thoughts are to stick closer to 1500 which is a little bit lower than I've been eating in the past.
Lovely to see your daughter's photos, and fun to compare and see how she looks like you!
How long is NRoLW? Are you starting from scratch or have you already done stage 1A and B? It will be fun to watch you go through it without my doing it yet ... I encourage you to substitute whenever necessary. My thoughts now are that as long as you're doing the bulk of the exercise and food program and perservering, it should be fine. Your body doesn't know it's supposed to do lunges and you're doing something else; it just knows it's getting a workout. And I was glad to let go of the exercises that were stressing my sore bodypart, and I'm feeling stronger from it.
Best of results to you! Enjoy those wonderful 1500 cal!
I am so impressed with this trip. Awesome educational experience.
The kids have one more week left. They are based out of Osaka this last leg seeing Hirojima, Miyajima, Nara, and stuff in and around Osaka.
How long is NRoLW? Are you starting from scratch or have you already done stage 1A and B? It will be fun to watch you go through it without my doing it yet ... I encourage you to substitute whenever necessary. My thoughts now are that as long as you're doing the bulk of the exercise and food program and perservering, it should be fine. Your body doesn't know it's supposed to do lunges and you're doing something else; it just knows it's getting a workout. And I was glad to let go of the exercises that were stressing my sore bodypart, and I'm feeling stronger from it.
Best of results to you! Enjoy those wonderful 1500 cal!
6 months if done as written. I don't have a problem with subbing exercises or making modifications as needed. If I have to do it too much though I'll pick another program as there's no sense in reinventing the wheel. Since I'm posting in a public forum I think it's only fair to the authors to note that I'm making a few modifications.
1500 calories is definately easier. I tend to be not as hungry in the summer but also I eat more corn and fruit etc.
I'm trying to force myself to stick to bodyweight only as recommended for the ankle but it's hard as I'm used to using added weight. Of course at 240 lbs I need to remind myself that's a fair bit of weight in and of itself.
Stepups are somewhat problematic as 14" step is too much right now and the next lowest size I have available is 8" which is way too easy. Not totally sure how to progress on this one where my goal is to use a higher step but not add weight or stress the ankle. This is where having a high step would come in handy instead of the old Firm Fanny Lifter I'm using now as I could increase the step height in 2 inch increments. Kind of hate to spend the money when I have a perfectly good step though. Any suggestions beyond adding sets/reps/weight? Oh I did concentrate more on making sure my glutes were activated so it did help in hitting the glutes and hamstrings better despite using such a low step.
I've also decided to keep the lunges or at least kneel to stand in workout B. They were hard on the ankle during the movement and awkward but didn't cause increased delayed pain so basically ok to do. It's also something I'm weak on especially my left leg. Keeping the unilateral work in will be good prep for when I have surgery as my left leg needs to do better to compensate for the months of non weight bearing.
I can't give you any suggestions about the step, but you made a good point. I still find bodyweight lunges tough. I just wanted to say that the pictures are great. I sounds like your daughter is having a great time.
I've noticed these short little workouts have got some oomph to them. Ended up making some adjustments weight wise though. It's been a long time since I've done lat pulldowns and actually have always done RDL instead of conventional deads so keeping weight low to make sure form is good. 40 on the lat pulldowns didn't feel hard but I sometimes was slacking on getting the bar all the down hence the drop in weight. I keep going back and forth on the lunges on whether or not to keep the lunges in or not. My ankle aches quite a bit now and I think the lunges are the culprit. I was also noticing that I probably should have reversed the reps on the exercises I intend to keep at bodyweight only as I sure as heck don't want to do more than 15 reps in a set. Will have to see how I progress on those.
My weight this week has been hovering right at 243--steady. I made some raspberry jam today. (No the two are not related just seemed silly to do a new paragraph for one sentence.)
Tomorrow I'm working one of the hospitals which means back and forth all day long between inpatient and outpatient. I've always forgotten to wear a pedometer on those days. Even just office days I get a fair bit of steps in over the course of the day should be interesting to see how many steps I accumulate tomorrow. That's one nice thing about the GWF I do tend to wear it more.
Food has been so so. Don't have the figures right in front of me but today I had around 1700 calories and 120 grams of protein.
Been an odd week this week with the extra work days and Rachel came home yesterday. It was good to see her.
I've missed a workout this week so will try to get one in today before it gets too hot. I'm not too upset about it as the next two weeks are not going to be part of my normal routine. I'll just do the best I can when I can.
Today was a day of NEAT in the form of 3 hours of yardwork. Moving bricks and reclaiming two flower beds from the weeds. The fracture set me behind by about 2 months as far as outdoor chores and whatnot go.
Unplanned rest day today. 3 low blood sugar reactions which kind of derailed my activity plans. I haven't totaled up calories yet so not sure how many extra calories all together. Have a terrible headache now. I guess some basal rate adjustments are in order.
Wish I could get some (modest) low blood sugar reactions. I have really been running high lately. LOL, us diabetics are never satisfied. Anyway good luck with getting that basal set.
Unplanned rest day today. 3 low blood sugar reactions which kind of derailed my activity plans. I haven't totaled up calories yet so not sure how many extra calories all together. Have a terrible headache now. I guess some basal rate adjustments are in order.
I don't know enough about it, but would that be caused by your high activity day the day before?
I don't know enough about it, but would that be caused by your high activity day the day before?
Yup. Diabetes is always a little bit of a juggling act. Most of the time I do pretty good in terms of matching my insulin to food and activity but sometimes the diabetes fairies surprise you.
Delayed lows are harder to deal with though as they're unpredictable and in theory anyway are occurring as the body pulls glucose from the bloodstream to replenish glycogen stores. For me these type of lows tend to be a little bit more severe and prolonged so they're kind of the pits. It's something that's the exception rather than the norm for me usually I can do similar activities in terms of duration and exertion without this happening.
I'm also very sensitive to the effects of exercise in terms of decreasing insulin resistance. Luckily it's all easy to fix. Sugar during the reactions and decrease the insulin. Today was much better. And for the future if needed I can always try increasing the carbs since I'm overall eating fewer carbs than I have in previous years.
07/22/09 NRoLW Stage 1 Workout A 7 of 16 Warmup: 5 min elliptical, dynamic, glute activation, warmup sets for some of lifts included below
A. Squat: BW/12, 35/12, 35/12
Alternating Sets B1 Pushup: BW/12, BW 12, B2 Bentover Row: 30/12, 45/12, 45/12 C1 Step Up: L leg BW/7(14" step), 6 (8" step); BW/7 (14"step)
R leg BW/12; BW/12 (both sets 14" step) C2 Prone Jackknife: BW/10, BW 10
07/23/09 Cardio Coach Vol 1 on Elliptical
Total Time: 42 minutes with extra warmup
Heart rate average: 72% (131)
Heart rate max: 92% (157)
Cardio coach is basically an ipod interval workout: Warmup: 5 minutes--HR 55%-65% Steady State 1: 4 minutes--HR 65%-75% Challenge 1: 6 minutes--6 hills (HR 75% to 85%) 20 sec
intervals with 40 secs rest. Steady State 2: 2 minutes--HR 65%-75% Challenge 2: 6 minutes--3 one minute sprints--HR 75% -85% with
1 minute recovery intervals Steady State 3: 4 1/2 minutes--HR 65%-75% Challenge 3: 3 minutes at HR 75-85%, 20 secs HR 86%+ Cooldown: 4 1/2 minutes at HR 55-65%.
Decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and get these done.
I haven't had any more low blood sugars but have had a couple of close calls. Yesterday I was just ravenous after work and was chowing down. My blood sugar was 82 so not low although I felt low earlier. But after about 60 grams of uncovered carbs my sugar was only 110 so still too much insulin on board. So I guess the food was needed.
My insulin dose has dropped from an average of 65 to 70 units/day to 50 units/day. I think I'm going to drop it again today we'll wait and see. Quite an impressive decrease over just a couple of days. Thank God I have the pump I would really hate to have to deal with this with Lantus on board. With the pump the insulin I use has a duration of 3 hours so even when it's too much it can be corrected easily and you only have to eat for a little while. Without the pump I'd be taking a basal insulin called Lantus that has a duration of 24 hours.
Tomorrow will be my last day of extra work for a little while back to my part time schedule after this. I'm glad. Rachel ended up having another root canal this week so trying to juggle work and emergency appointments is always fun. Hopefully this is the last for her. 5 root canals in 6 weeks has got to be miserable. On a positive note however they didn't aggravate her migraines which is very good.
Oh and in case anybody reading hasn't noticed--I asked to come back to the unchallenged side. Much as I enjoyed the challenge I'm not planning on doing another one soon so decided to come back posting over here.
... I bought a schwinn basic model exercise bike (retail $350) for $125 in new condition via craig's list. I had checked out the models and features and cheapest store prices first, then watched on craig;s list and it didn't take long. Added about $10 for gas to pick it up... very satisfied with purchase
... I encourage you to substitute whenever necessary. My thoughts now are that as long as you're doing the bulk of the exercise and food program and perservering, it should be fine. Your body doesn't know it's supposed to do lunges and you're doing something else; it just knows it's getting a workout. And I was glad to let go of the exercises that were stressing my sore bodypart, and I'm feeling stronger from it.
Linear Mode
