Well, I think my knee is getting better. It still hurts but I was able to do a little more last night at the gym. It may not be much but I was able to jog for 6 minutes before I had to move back down to a brisk walk and I was able to use the elliptical machine for 20 just fine. Even though I know I still will not be running on Sunday for The Color Run, having the option of short bursts of jogging makes me happier. Maybe by Monday I will be able to attempt starting Pump again.
And for your viewing pleasure here are some pictures from our trip to Idaho.
Once again I disappeared. Sorry guys. There has been too much going on lately and I haven’t made the time to keep up here or an any of the social networks. Sometimes life gets crazy and you just have to take a step back from other things and focus on getting back to normal. I had a minor medical issue after returning from vacation, wrecked me knee after that then had a Bridal shower and wedding invitations to make for a wedding I am MOH in this September on top of dealing with my family being a bunch of crazies and a bush catching on fire that was right against my house as I was leaving for vacay. Busy, Busy. Fun. Fun.
I am ashamed to say that my diet has been sub par but no so bad it is out of control, I have gotten workouts in a few times a week but I am just walking or peddling on the recumbent bike, my knee swells at the thought of anything more. The swelling has gone more but now that the swelling has lessened it hurts like crazy. I am hoping that in a week I can be back to normal. But, if the pain doesn’t die down by Monday I will be into the doctor and getting to the bottom of this. I have no idea what happened. I hadn’t worked out the day it started and there were no falls, twists or bumps to it. Maybe it is just my Fybromyalgia? Who knows.
Saying all of this my recent 90 Day Challenge will be started over and I promise myself and all of you that I will get back on track and come back better than ever!
This Sunday is The Color Run in Ann Arbor. Unfortunately i was ready to run it but now do not want to change further injury on my knee. I am still going to do it but at a much slower pace (speed walking more than likely)
Also, I will get the vacay pics loaded and post those soon. I hope all of my fellow WPers (thanks for checking on me Kurt) are doing well as well as everyone else.
Things around here have so busy between the kids stuff, the yard, painting, new flooring, volunteering and my back going out. The good news is the carpet is in and I absolutely love it, today is the last day of swim, my back is better, one more week of school and there are only a few baseball games left. The bad news is I have to bathing suit shop today and now that my back is feeling better (just a little sore) it is raining and I have plants that still need to be planted. I am sure the rain will keep them alive. So all in all my complaints are no big deal, minus the bathing suit. UGH. I went and tried on about 15 the other day. Still really unhappy with my legs, but I know that will change in due time. It is kind of weird that I am more upset about them now than last summer when I was wearing a 18 and not a 12 like this year? Maybe it is that they are lumpy now? The lumps are terrible. Another thing I know will change in time but I would really like for it to change now!
I have a bachelorette pool party to attend tomorrow, it is supposed to be cold and there is a 50% chance of rain. Let’s hope that the Weather Channel is wrong about this one. There is always a good chance that it is just for the fact that this is Michigan and the weather loves to be erratic. 90 degrees and clear one day 58 and rain the next then maybe some snow. Either way the weather goes I am sure we will make the best of it. Still buying the dreaded bathing suit just in case and I get to find a fun bachelorette gift to buy and very, very inappropriate card. Good thing that there are plenty of naughty” stores in this small town.
A noose: how I feel about the measuring tape after this week.
Along the subject of diet and exercise, this week I feel really guilty about. I had one day where I ate the worst dinner ever, hotdogs and chips (crisps for my UK friends). Granted that day I could barely stand and we had to eat. I decided on the one thing I could make in five minutes so I could sit back down. I really regret that decision even though I do know that I didn’t have many options giving my physical state. Along the subject of my water intake lets just say that I really should be ashamed. And calorie consumption even with the bad for me meal was way, way to low. I didn’t eat much at all through the week. All in all I was not on my best behavior and slipped into some bad habits I used to have. I got exercise in but I didn’t want to push it so I only did what I had to and modified like crazy in order to not hurt my back more. Thank goodness there were no weight training days on the LMP UCT schedule. I don’t want to miss and have to start over. Also, the getting back to running thing didn’t happen. Between getting what I could in with my back out and having no choice but to move furniture so the carpet could come out I just couldn’t swing it. I have no problem pushing myself outside me comfort zone but not to the point that I will cause injury. Hopefully I don’t see a bigger number when I get on the scale and bust out the measuring tape on Tuesday’s weigh and measure in! I am so paranoid!
Well, I don’t think I really have much more to ramble on about right now so I will bid you all adieu. Happy Friday!
I’ll be posting before and after pics of my new flooring soon!
I threw my back out last night doing pretty much nothing. Oh the joys of Fybromyalgia! So today I am going to talk about stretching to relieve back pain. Even with a chronic pain disease I have found that stretching can make quite a difference in pain levels. Plus stretching daily can help lengthen and strengthen your back muscles, improve posture and make it less likely to injure yourself in the first place.
I know what you are thinking, my back hurts no way do I want to exercise, stretch or even move. Everyone knows that exercise is important for our overall health but people sometimes forget the importance of stretching. The back and spine are made up of muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments, it is made to bend, twist, and carry quite a bit of our body weight. Stretching on a regular basis helps reduce stress on joints, improves blood flow and adds flexibility. Also, stretching before exercise helps prep your muscles for activity and reduces the risk of injury.
Not everyone hurts their back during exercise or vigorous activity. I know this and I have hurt mine doing what? I have no idea, I was standing in the Little League Concession Stand volunteering, at that time I was bagging popcorn. Popcorn is not heavy, neither are teenie popcorn bags or the scoop I was using. It just happened. Maybe there was a moment where I twisted strange or maybe it is because I am a cripple. Either way, it hurts and it is improving because of stretching it out.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while you are stretching:
Start at the top, if you stretch your neck then work your way down you use already stretched muscles in the rest of your stretching routine.
Don’t stretch until you are in pain, go slow and only until you feel a bit on tension.
Be sure to stand steady, no bouncing around. Think strength in stillness.
Hold in your stretch for 10 to 20 seconds and do not forget to breathe! Be sure to inhale before the stretch and exhale during.
Small sets of 3 is enough, do not over do it! You can always add more as you are more flexible.
Personally I stretch daily, more than once in the instance that I am stiff or sore. Today there will be a few sessions of stretches going on to get this pain worked out of my back. You do not have to do it daily but I really would recommend doing it a few times a week (personal opinion, I am not a doctor.)
Here is the routine I use. I do believe that I first found it on http://www.webmd.com. I do not have a link to their direct article, but the routine is now in my memory.
Neck Stretch
Stand with your feet flat , knees bent just a little bit.
Tilt your head slowly forward, bringing your chin toward your chest.
Turn your head to the left until your chin is lined up with your shoulder.
Do this again on your right side
Tilt your head to the left so your ear is to your left shoulder.
Do this again but on your right side.
Shoulder Rolls
Stand with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent a little bit.
Roll your shoulders forward 10 times starting with small circles.
Roll your shoulders 10 more times in large circles.
Roll your shoulders backwards 10 times starting with small circles.
Roll your shoulders backwards 10 times using large circles.
Hamstring Stretch
Lie down and bend your knees.
Grab one leg around the thigh and slowly bring it toward your chest.
Pull until you fee a light stretch.
Hold for 10 to 20 seconds.
Repeat with you other leg.
Hamstring Stretches 2
Stand with one leg out in front of you, straightened and put your leg on a table or chair, I use the stairs.
Bend the leg you are standing on until you feel a little stretch under the thigh of the raised leg. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds.
Repeat with your other leg.
I also like to do Sun Salutations for a sore back. Here is a video for you to check out that will show you how to do a Yoga Sun Salutation:
On today’s workout menu I have Les Mills Pump Step as well as getting back on the horse with my running. I know I may not have the best run (I usually kind of stink at it anyhow) but I am going to get out there and do what I can. Hope you all have a fit and healthy day! Time for me to go stretch out this sore back and work on getting my workouts in.
It is commonly thought that complete rest after a workout is the best way to recover. Taking a day off and letting the muscles rest and repair does work for some people. I have found that with Fibromyalgia the soreness after a workout is far worse than when I used to be healthy, even the workouts themselves are harder to do. Taking a full on rest and recover day is not best for me.
Staying active with Fybro is hard work, the workouts are always more challenging, the aches are worse and some things you have to modify the heck out of just to accomplish in your own way. If I take a day off after I feel terrible. In my case I have found that a ten minute walk then a five-minute warm up really helps with my flexibility and my ability to keep proper form and follow through to the end. The bit of flexibility and looseness that is gained from that fifteen minute warm up is a game changer. After my workouts I make sure that I do a five-minute cool down as well as five minutes of stretching after.
Doing Les Mills Pump there are schedules rest days. Rarely will I attempt a full rest day. When I do I get stiff and sore, and jumping back on the Pump bandwagon the next day is extremely hard. This is where active recovery comes in. Besides my warm up and cool down I stretch, constantly. Anytime i start to feel stiff or the pain level starts creeping up I stretch. On my days off I may just jog, do some yoga or low impact aerobics. If I am really sore I do yoga. What I am saying here is something is done to keep myself moving. With fybro it is very easy to sit down and not move. Your body doesn’t like moving, but doing it is best.
It has been documented over and over the importance of exercise and stretching for fybro patients. I can say personally that it is making a huge difference in how i feel physically. I certainly am not in as much of the fybro pain, yes, there is pain and exercise is not a miracle cure, I am not making any claims that it is. What I am saying is that activity helps. You may have to struggle in the beginning, but gaining that strength and flexibility makes life so much easier. You have to be willing to power through for it to help. People with Fybromyalgia are more likely to have inflamed and tight muscles, poor circulation, poor posture and more toxins in the body. Regular stretching and exercise can help relieve those symptoms. Start out slow, don’t stretch too hard or hold poses too long. Keep it static.
After almost 90 days of exercise my symptoms are lessened, I have learned my limits and what I can do to feel better. I have learned that I have to work twice as hard to get a work out in as a healthy person does. I have also learned that I am worth that hard work and that I can do it. I have also learned that active recovery works best for me.
Today is a scheduled rest day with Pump so I am going to warm up with a walk and spend the day weeding my garden area (It looks terrible!) so I can get my veggies planted.
Wow, it was strange not writing blogs and reading blogs for a few days. Blogging has become a habit, maybe even a ritual for me. I missed it. I spent the entire weekend painting. When we bought out house every inch of it was brown, every wall, every floor and even the outside is brown (except one bathroom they never bothered painting and the laundry room). The people who built this must have had a brown obsession. The only lived here six months after they built it so they didn’t have a chance to realize that they made a bad choice with all the brown. Upon buying it we knew we didn’t like the brown but would change it over time. We have now rid, 4 bedrooms, the living room, sitting room, kitchen/dining rooms, the upstairs hallway and the foyer of the brown. All that there is left is 2 bathrooms and the carpet. The Carpet guys were supposed to come measure yesterday but did not and will be here tomorrow. Hopefully the new carpet will be in soon! I did not take before pictures just because I was in the let’s do this zone and didn’t think of it but here are the pics I have. The pics are not the best because I am still waiting for Canon to actually do their job.
Original brown walls
Hallway/stairwell landing. Painting two story tall walls is hard!
Hallway: tape is still up and paint trays on the floor but you get the point.
What happens when you beagle decides he needs to sit against the wall and constantly wag his tail against it. his tail is not supposed to be white it looks naturally white, but it is not.
Contrast with new color
Almond white on main walls and baked scone on the accent wall (fireplace)
The kid approves!
There you go, that was my weekend in a nutshell. We did also do some shopping around for all mounts for the TV and a new media center. No luck finding what I have in mind. I am very picky I guess. I am hoping to have everything done by the last weekend of the month. I am hosting a jewelry party here and it may be a good thing to not have the house a disastrous mess.
I did well with my food intake over the weekend even with keeping busy. I would have rather had take out all weekend just because it would have been easier. but once I actually made an effort to cook, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I was so close to falling into my old mindset of being busy means that you should just eat what is quickest and came in a take out box. Whew, crisis adverted. I did get a bit of exercise in but not as much as I would have liked. but painting was pretty hard on my hands with the dip in the weather this weekend. My body hates temp changes. Especially when it drops down like it did. I froze my rear off at Emma’s game on Saturday morning. It was so freaking cold! I wish Michigan weather could make up its mind! Anyhow, I rambled off there for a minute. back on topic now. Exercise. I didn’t put in as much effort as usual. But painting had to be done and it was work so it counts as a bit of my missed workout. All, in all I still was active. The main thing that I was lacking in was my Les Mills Pump. I missed one session of Extreme. Just did a quick Challenge session instead. I skipped Flow, but no biggie, it’s just a 20 minute yoga workout. All in all I think I could have done worse so I am okay with it. Got back to it full force yesterday.
I suppose you all want to know how I fared with week eleven, here are my stats for the week:
Chest: 32 inches (- 1.5 inches)
R Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
L Arm: 11.5 inches (- 0 inches)
Waist: 32 inches (- 0 inches)
Hips: 41 inches (- 0 inches)
R Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 0 inches)
L Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 0 inches)
Weight: 171 pounds (-0 pounds)
Pant Size: 12
BMI: 29.5
Minus 1.5 inches this week. Not too shabby. I would still really love to see the scale start moving though.
Yesterday I ended up taking the day off of my workouts, I do not feel guilty about it either. There was just too much to fit into one day and my body could barely handle was already on my plate. And sometimes things are just more important than my workouts. I have two hours before I have two hours before I have to head Bridgeport for the funeral of a wonderful man and my friend’s Father. I have to stop on the way and buy something to wear. I shopped for yesterday’s showings but didn’t think to get something for the actual funeral. I have slacks but no funeral appropriate tops, I wore my only nicely fitting appropriate top yesterday. I am loving getting smaller but today I am annoyed that I have 2 closets and a walk in with clothes in them and nothing to wear that is dressy. Usually I love shopping but I don’t like rushing. also, it is time to take some more of my clothes to the consignment shop.
This puts it in perspective for you guys. Except your games still work and my clothes don't
I am going to squeeze in a workout this morning. I don’t want to take too much time off. But today’s workout that was scheduled wasn’t a hard-core one so I should be good. I need to keep moving and just adapt my exercise until this flare up passes. Even my doctor says to workout just take it easy because it is actually good for the fybro. Well I better quit wasting time and get moving, lots to do today. We have field clean up and practice for the kid tonight after school too. Busy, busy day. Time to go see what Les Mills has in store for me today.
It is that time again. I’ve got my scale and tape measure handy and I am ready to go. I am not sure how accurate anything will be this week. I have some MAJOR bloating issues and still have a pot belly going on, swollen from my stomach to thighs (I can feel the fluid, yuck). My Fibromyalgia is flared up pretty badly. I feel foggy and things that should be easy are getting more and more confusing. I went to Zumba last night and wow, did I have a really hard time catching on. I did 100 times better last time, and that was my first go at it. Oh well, I did my best and worked up a really good sweat. That is all that matters. Right now I am hoping this fog, the bloat and the elevated pain passes quick. I am definitely going to have to tone down the weights for now. I really hope it doesn’t set me back to far. Ah, the life of a cripple.
I had to go pant shopping yesterday, needed some dress slacks for a Showing this afternoon. I hate shopping when bloated, makes finding things harder. I was still able to buy a size 12 though. So I was happy.
Let me hop on the scale and get this done and over with:
Chest: 36 inches (- 0 inches)
R Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
L Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
Waist: 32 inches (- 0 inches)
Hips: 41 inches (- 0 inches)
R Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 0 inches)
L Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 0 inches)
Weight: 171 pounds (-0 pounds)
Pant Size: 12
BMI: 29.9
Well, that wasn’t as bad as I though it would be, all the bloat sits above and below where I measure. How convenient! So no change this week. Not exactly pleased but I will accept it and move on. I think I need to step up the cardio or go a little stricter with the diet so I can get some sure changes for next week. Hoping it will clear out this water weight I am carrying around right now. I really dislike weeks with no change they feel like set backs and are disappointing. It is the beginning of a new fitness week for me so time to change that!
Ah yes, Tuesday morning, the day I once again take my official weight and measurements for the whole world to see. Today was a good week results wise, so I am one happy camper.
Yesterday I did Pump Extreme once again, I love me some Pump. I was able to up my weight: chest = 10lbs, tri’s = 5lbs and squats = 20lbs. I also made it through the lunge track without having to take a break, so big fitness day. Then I got a message from a friend who wanted to know if I wanted to try Zumba class with her. I went. It was a lot of fun, I spend a portion of the time just moving about in mass confusion, but I didn’t mind. It was one heck of a cardio session. i haven’t had a sweat like that during cardio in a while.
It apparently was a day to be worried, concerned, afraid for me and/or to basically think what I am doing is stupid. The worried, etc, is not a big deal. At least I know people care. But rest assured world, I eat well and I work hard to get results but I don’t hurt myself, crash diet, or over do it. I am okay I promise, so chill out and I love you all too. I wish people understood that what I am doing is really good, and that a little pain can add up to amazing things for my body. I am getting stronger, leaning out, dropping body fat, gaining more energy and loving myself more and more each day. What’s so bad about that? Now the people who think this is a phase or just plan dumb or nuts. get off the pot and do something for you body before you worry about what I do for mine. I noticed that the past 24 hours thi has been a thing not only for myself but fellow bloggers so maybe it was just in the air.
While I work on me, try working on YOU!
And here are my Week 8 results, You ready for this Jelly?
Chest: 36 inches (- 0 inches)
R Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
L Arm: 12 inches (- 0 inches)
Waist: 32 inches (- 1.5 inches)
Hips: 41 inches (- 1.5 inches)
R Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 0.5 inches)
L Thigh: 24.5 inches (- 1 inches)
Weight: 171 pounds (- 2 pounds)
Pant Size: 12
BMI: 29.9
Did you notice that my BMI is down enough that I am no longer considered obese?? YAY!!! Just shedding the word OBESE from the list of words that could describe me is amazing. I love it! I also am measuring down a bra size. Good bye DD, hello D. May sound like a bad thing to you but DD are just too big for me. My doc didn’t think I would lose breast size seeing they were large before the weight gain but all those chest exercises did the trick! Maybe I can get down to a C, that would be amazing. So today, I shall bra shop and actually find frilly pretty ones because I am not buying plain jane upper decker flopper stoppers! Not to sound repetitive but I love Les Mills Pump and am amazed at my achievements on the program!
Just so you know. I did not have a doughnut last night! Go me! I did melt some cheese with sriracha sauce on some whole grain baked tortilla chips. A whopping 310 calories worth. So I feel guilty this morning and am fighting the urge to step on the scale. Must.not.give.in! i haven’t been eating enough over the past week so I am sure my indulgence will not hurt me. On the other hand the not eating enough calories for the week may. I have had a small appetite all week. Still eating all my meals, just not much of them. Getting lots of my veggies in at least. I am sure that will bounce back after I get sleeping again and this Fybro flare passes. After this and Emma gets on the bus I am going back to bed for an hour and hoping it refreshes me a little. I am sleeping in until 9 tomorrow, I’ll just have to threaten some lives before I go to bed, both human and pet.
I wanted to start Couch to 5K yesterday. But I did not. Too tired. I sis get my scheduled workout in though. Pump and Shred, I killed it. I may give it a try tonight if not for sure tomorrow.
I found another 5k that I really want to do. My friends and I dress up and go out for Halloween for mine and one other friends birthday every year. But I am thinking it is time to change it up a bit. There is a zombie 5k The Zombie Dash this April but now they are going to plan a Halloween Weekend one! It is a 5k plus Zombie Apocalypse. And if you know me you know I love me some zombies. You start at a cabin in the woods and have to make it to safety without being caught by zombies, So in a way capture the flag/race/awesomeness. If no one else wants to do it I may just have to ditch everyone for the Halloween Birthday Extravaganza Weekend that I plan every year.
And to round off this post here is a picture of what I made for dinner last night. Udon Noodle Soup with Shrimp, Crab and lots of veggies. with a spinach salad. Have a nice day Time for my nap then onto hours upon hours of neglected housework to catch up on.
An exploration of recipes, tips and tricks from the bestselling book "Slimmer - The New Mediterranean Way to Lose Weight" - released in the United States in June 2012
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