progress report: oct 19, 2010

so far, so good!

i've walked every day, barring two days i didn't: one right after i twisted my ankle and then another day when i tried to do my regular walk instead of taking it easy and had to get a lift home because my ankle hurt so much i was just hobbling along.

last night? i *jogged*! okay, it was only for 15 - 30 seconds at a time, but i actually jogged and there was no pain in my knees and hips until the 8th time. then my knees and hips started to feel ... not "painful", but definitely they were sending me a signal so i stopped. that's why i recorded "7-1/2" jogs. i jog as far as i can when i'm going uphill for maximum effect. another benefit of the jogging session was my average speed went from 4kmph to 4.9kmph and that got me home a half-hour earlier.

weight this morning was 207.8 on the fancy new scale - would've been 202 or 203 on the old one. i'd've liked to have seen that - wonder where it went? hope mom didn't pitch it...

haven't been bringing saari along on my walks - she complains and wants out of the stroller so much it totally ruins the "relaxing" aspect. i end up yelling at her to "just shut up!!!!" because of course she saves it when i'm trying to shove the stroller up a hill and i'm totally out of breath. she's happy enough on the level surfaces when we're booming along at a good clip.

new (to me!) diet discovery: spaghetti squash!!!!

omg, it's *delicious*! all the mouth feel of pasta but doesn't leave me with that heavy rock in my gut - friggin' amazing stuff. another benefit? regular pasta is 110cal per half cup (cooked plain, no oil) while spaghetti squash is 25cal per half cup. i had it with meat sauce last night - not even home-made, just unico which is normally "myegh!" but it tastes pretty all right with the squash. gonna have it again for brekkie today.

made peanut butter oatmeal cookies with saari the other day. i halved the sugar (instead of 1c packed brown + 3/4c white, i made it 1/2c packed brown + 1/2 c white) and it was good, but still a bit sweet - less white sugar next time. instead of margarine, i used real butter - stuff's way healthier. i swapped out some of the oatmeal for milled flax seed and some psyllium and it gave the cookies a really nice chewy texture. using crunchy pb instead of smooth provided fun in the odd unexpected crunchy bit. i also made them small - a bit bigger than a toonie. instead of 2doz for the recipe, i ended up with 3doz. dunno what the calorie count is, just have to console myself they're actually quite healthy.

measurements:

sept 14th, i was 225 (recalculated according to the new scale) and 49" - 40-1/2" - 48"


today, i'm 207.8 and 46" - 38" - 46"

now why is it...?

so i'm scouting about online looking for photos i can tack up as inspiration.

i google "female fitness models" and am left wondering "what the hell happened to WOMEN!?" all the female fitness models seem to be late-teens or early-20s or at least trying to appear so by ripping to the point of six-pack abs (a very unattractive look on a female, i should add). unless, of course, they're swimsuit models, in which case they look like they've had themselves surgically modified to protect against accidental drowning in a high sea by having their fronts rise automatically to the top.

okay, then, since i'm in my mid-40s and the mother of 3, i have no wish to look like a 20-something or (worse by far!) even appear to be *trying* to look like a 20-something, i google "mature female fitness models".

how infuriating! they're not "mature", they're SENIOR! if they're not outright grey, then they're clothed neck to toes in yoga wear, martial arts pajamas, long nightgowns, or whatever!

so... what happened to women in their 30s and 40s looking good in nice outfits that display their physical attributes tastefully (i mean, outfits NOT composed of either a length of dental floss, two stamps, and a cork or else a set of grandma's livingroom drapes!)?

twisted ankle and manual labour

i missed a couple walks over the past few days - on wednesday, i twisted my ankle moving off the pavement for an oncoming car during a night walk. i didn't move over enough and my foot landed half-on, half-off and twisted over onto its side.

thursday, my ankle was killing me, so i decided to give the walk a break. added to that, i had an old chimney to dismantle and that involved a lot of running up and down the ladder to and from the roof, carrying of chimney sections, and so on, so that was a workout.

friday, i was definitely feeling it - but i got the new chimney up and the flashing installed - but it was too late to walk; i was exhausted.

saturday, i got a new section of chimney put up (the original chimney was way too short so we had to extend it up to six feet above the roof) and the whole thing capped, storm collar put on, and stove pipes assembled. i had to take dandy for a walk - poor dog was going mental. it was okay, but my foot wasn't feeling too shit-hot.

sunday, i did most of the shingling and after cooking the thanksgiving dinner, i went for my walk. it was going well until the last big hill before the far point. that's when my ankle started stabbing and i was seriously considering calling mom to come and get me. i made it home eventually.

today, we left for our walk but the first hill told me it was too much, too soon - my ankle was just throbbing. maggie was home so dandy played with her for a bit.

compensated by doing a few planks and some light jogging on the rebounder - i hate that thing: my collarbones and shoulders will be killing me tomorrow. feels like a very angry dwarf was whaling on them with a very large hammer.

*mope* instant 10lb weight gain!

i bought myself a new scale - a digital one with really big numbers:



(info here: www.amgphysiologic.com/site/Scale_FW.asp )

and instantly gained 10lbs.

poop.

the lady at the drug store said my scale was probably worn out (it really is ancient and decrepit) and that digital scales tend to weigh heavier than analog anyway. since this scale's weighing pretty much the same as my doctor's, i guess i gotta go with it.

but what to do now - should i redo all my weight-loss progress charts? it'd really suck to have to wipe out all my progress from the past month and basically start all over again from scratch....

pro-ana morons

i HATE HATE HATE so-called "pro-anorexics" - those who actively encourage and enable anorexia.

i think they should be charged under the criminal code with counselling to commit suicide since it's been soundly proven that, left untreated, anorexia leads to death.

anorexia is nothing more or less than suicide by starvation and, to my mind, it's the most selfish, vengeful, and malicious way to choose. the anorexic - knowing full well she (statistically speaking) has a problem because her parents, her friends, her teachers, and her freaking doctor have TOLD her she has a problem, is basically sinking in a deep pool of shit. all her loved ones are on the shore calling to her and throwing her ropes to pull her out but does she grab them and help save herself!? hell no - she makes damned sure that rope lands in the shit before she throws it back making sure it slaps them across the face.

refusing to get treated for a condition such as anorexia or schizophrenia, that's a big FUCK YOU to everybody who knows and loves you.

and honestly, to all those moronic pro-anorexics out there: do you *honestly* think THIS is, by any stretch of the imagination, "sexy"?!?

anybody who finds that image "sexy" would be equally turned on by:



or



or even

progress report and SKECHER'S SHAPE-UPS!!!!

there was a brief scare yesterday when i thought i'd lost my pedometer - was starting to feel i was karmically destined to never own one for longer than two days! but it's okay, i found it this morning.

made all my walks PLUS on friday, i walked into minden (3hrs) and bought myself a pair of skecher's shape-up XF - omg, i LOVE them LOVE them LOVE them!

i'm planning to buy four more pairs: another pair like these so i can wear one, let one dry for a day; a pair of all-terrain for hiking on the trails, etc; and a pair of classic shape-ups for a real workout (you're not supposed to wear them all day long).

these are the ones i'm referring (shape-ups XF, forget the style number):

these are the All-Terrains i want:

and these are the Classic workout shoes i'm eyeballing:

i had no break-in period: i put them on in the store on friday and have basically not taken them off since. my feet actually hurt when i don't wear them, when i do wear them, i have NO pain in my feet, ankles, knees, hips, or lower back. if something starts to twinge, i can correct for it: ie, if my knee hurts, shift my weight to the outer edge of the shoe. if my hips hurt, shift my weight forward. if my lower back hurts, i need to tighten my abs and tuck my butt under just a bit to centre my posture.

they're *phenomenal*!

so here i go from "more than $20 for a pair of shoes is a waste of money" to planning out a $600 shoe wardrobe, lolol.

MORE great news!

i beat my first target goal! i was supposed to weigh 206.33 today and i'm down to 205!

but i need a new/better scale: this one's starting to wobble all over the place. the needle was swinging from 200 to 208 so i just picked the one at which it seemed to rest at the most.

eating-wise, i'm getting better. i did fall off the wagon and eat last night, but i really was truly hungry, not just craving. since i was up till 2am, i figured having some pulled pork, a bun, a banana, and some grapes at midnight wasn't going to kill me.

progress report

so it's Sept 30 today and so far, i've only missed 1-1/2 walks.

i've extended my walk to go up to South Lake Road - that's a total of 10.22km according to the map utility on Sparkpeople.com

for three days in a row, i've successfully stopped eating after 9pm. i meant to make it 10pm but considering i didn't/couldn't/didn't bother/forgot for, what, two weeks or so? i figured i'd make the extra sacrifice.

sept 21: half a walk to the wetlands - it was a glorious, sunny day when i left but by the time i'd walked about 1km back from the endpoint, a truck pulled up and said he'd give me a ride home then jerked a thumb back over his shoulder - i hadn't seen the EVIL lightning storm rolling in from behind!

sept 22: no walk today - didn't trust the weather and i felt like shit.

sept 23 - 26: walked to South Lake Road - yay me!

sept 27 - 29: not only did i walk to SLR *but* i also managed to not eat after 9pm! yay me!

*sigh* whatever, lol.

i've put an order in at the drug store for a pedometer and 6yds of heavy-gauge rubber exercise bands so i can add some resistance training.

at the beginning of july, i bought a pair of runners - 3wks later, i could stick my finger through the sole and touch my foot. so i returned them and bought a pair of reeboks with some fancy air chamber thing that was supposed to revolutionize my walking.

six weeks later, the air chamber on the left popped. not only were ppl asking if my shoes were wet, but it did something and i would end up in exteme agony by the end of my walk.

beginning of sept, mom bought me a pair of runners - it's sept 30 and the sole on the right shoe is literally separating and the tread's pretty much gone - i'll post pics tomorrow, you're gonna die laughing, it's so pathetic.


ETA: i bought a new pedometer! i love this thing. i didn't know it works very well if you just shove it in a purse or pocket - so i'm stuffing it in my bra to test that theory. if that doesn't work, i'll clip it to the inside of my waistband so if it drops again, it'll land in my gotchies.

went and had lunch at the restaurant, soup and salad. told the waiter "no dressing and only half the cheese, please" because the chef there has a liberal hand for both.

so i get the salad... to discover exactly half of it covered with a thick layer of cheese!