Done - and ready for the day!

I especially like getting my exercise 'out of the way' in the morning and having the rest of the day to do stuff... there's a good chance that after 4pm, I won't head to the gym and won't get my daily activity done...

I woke up without an alarm at 8:20 and decided to try the 9am spinning with Amy Finch this morning - I didn't have time to eat something - I have a window of opportunity for that and if I miss it, I'll feel ill while exercising... so I geared up and headed in!

The class with Amy is much different than Catherine's in that there is no stopping in between songs to recover - you get water when you can/want and keep pedaling in hand position 3 (if that's where you already are), where as with Catherine, you go back to a flat road and recover before the next 'exercise.' I like Catherine's style a little better... plus Amy is a little crazy - in an overly peppy kind of way - but she's really nice and if I couldn't go to Catherine's class, I'd go to Amy's (which is huge) and I may continue to go to Amy's classes in the future. She does have us 'hovering' and sending our butt's back while in hand position 3 which hurts my back and is not something you're 'supposed' to do - but in any of these classes where an instructor tells me to do this, I just don't :)

One HUGE mistake I made yesterday which affected my riding this morning - after the 1.5 hours of riding yesterday, I didn't stretch - WHAT WAS I THINKING??? So my hamstrings were sore and my knees ached a little - yuck! And SO avoidable!!

Right now I am enjoying my favorite post-exercise breakfast = steel cut oat-oatmeal with strawberries (or blueberries), agave syrup, cinnamon and walnuts = a GREAT power breakfast with complex carbs and protein to last me for the next 3 hours! YAY!

I hope everyone has a great memorial day weekend!!

Work Out Crisis: Averted!

Opportunity literally knocked on my front door - well, maybe not literally - but close enough. The plan for the afternoon = strawberry picking with Galvan Gals (which was successful, fun, and active because I included squats :) ), a possible window of time - depending on when we got back from picking, and then moving the new piece of furniture into my house before going to hang out with friends from Bible Study...

During that possible window of time, the friend who was helping me move furniture in his truck called to see if I wanted to go on a ride before moving furniture - so we went on a 1.5 hour ride and I had to push myself harder than I would have if I was solo, I got a great workout!

Work out crisis averted!

Barb's suggestion for jump rope is a good one - I don't have a jumping rope per se - but I'm sure I could find rope/line in the garage that would do for the future - and jumping rope is more fun that jumping jacks - because j.rope = fun kid activity where as j.jacks = hard HCC activity associated with a lot of yelling... so the suggestion is great for future moments with no inclination for a gym trip :)

what to do, what to do...

I am about to go strawberry picking with my friend Shannon and her two little girls - Lula (3.5) and Penny (2) - which should be tons of fun!! And then I'm moving a couch and going to a get-together... so I need to find an activity amongst all that... I babysat this morning for a 1-month old... my day is PACKED today - maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a bike ride! What do you do on days like this when there is no time to go the gym??

Friday a.m. I'll be up early doing the spin class at 6am - unless I can't get up early (always a possibility) and do the spin class at 9am...

what to do today??

Tiny Bumps :)

I weighed in tonight and gained 1.6 lbs since I last weighed in on 4/1/10. Not too shabby - sure a tiny bump in the road - but no biggie. If I had gained 3+ lbs, I may have cried a little - but I can lose 1.6 lbs in a week! Which is my next goal - to lose 1.6 lbs by next Wednesday.

Barb came with me to the meeting which was great! During the meeting, Jimmy Williams from "Healthy Home Foods" came and talked to us about the importance of eating grass-fed beef and not supporting larger companies like ConAgra and Smithfield or Tyson based on how they treat the animals and the diseases that have sprouted from these company's processing 'techniques' - which is talked about in more detail in the documentary Food Inc - which the HCC team played after Judith's discussion. I have seen and would definitely recommend "Food Inc." If you have Netflix, you can watch it for free online... so no reason not to see it (if you have Netflix). I think that Jimmy brought up some good points, however his company sets you up with 6 months of food both vegetables and beef, pork, and poultry - and this isn't a service that will really help me. Plus everything that is delivered is frozen - I don't have the space for this service.

I also would rather - and so far it has worked for me - invest in a CSA, get my veggies - those I can't eat, I freeze myself in smaller quantities. And I have decided (since the last time I posted) to go back to my diet of mostly-vegetarian; eating vegetarian unless it is grass-fed local beef or poultry and I will eat seafood. The nutritionist believed that as long as I'm aggressive about getting enough complete protein - and as long as I take a pre-natal vitamin (they contain more iron than a multi-vitamin.... don't worry, I'm not trying to send the message that I need pre-natal anything), that I should be fine.

Judith then gave her mini-talk about how to maintain weight loss and how to cope with post HCC times... some notes of hers that I've highlighted are below:

- Set smaller attainable goals and reward yourself

- Don't burden yourself with unrealistic expectations

- Talk with HCP about a healthy goal weight

- To maintain weight, you must balance your intake of calories with the energy you burn

- Try something new (a new class)

- Strap on a pedometer and find out how many steps you take per day

- gradually add another 250 steps/day

- have a goal (eventually) of 10,000 or more steps each day ( ~ 5 miles)

- Shop on a full stomach & stick to your list

- Take notes (in food journal) of my strategies and how they held up

- Keep measurement charts along with weight charts

- Plan meals ahead of time and plan for ups and downs

Spinning :)

Spinning this morning was GREAT - I really pushed myself and it paid off - if nothing else, I haven't been that sweaty after a work out in quite a long time :) For those who don't spin, it's actually harder to stay in the seat after you add resistance - you want to do standing runs instead of seated runs - at every opportunity, I added resistance and stayed in the seat to do a little extra - and I can FEEL it!

So as of now, I've worked out Friday, Saturday, (break on Sunday), Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - which is pretty sweet! I'm not sure what I'm going to do for exercise tomorrow - but I'll figure it out before I go to bed tonight - that way I'll be prepared to do it!

Then this evening, I'm going to an HCC meeting - and Barb is accompanying me (Thanks, Barb!!) where I'll weigh in and we'll hear a talk on organic food, etc. and then they're going to show the movie "Food, Inc." which I have seen, so I probably won't stay for the movie - but great idea on their part!! I'll blog again this evening with an update about my weigh-in. I'm fearful that I have gained, but you never know... I may be the same, which I would count just as much as an accomplishment as losing weight because I've been eating some foods I should stay away from... and as you all know, up until recently, I haven't been at the gym as much!

So stay tuned - and thanks for being there for me :)

Yesterday was a weird day - I thought I was going to go on a bike ride - then got a call to babysit - which I feel like I must take these days with no substantial income.... then en route it was canceled (sick child) - but I had on exercise clothes - so I went to the gym.... glad I was prepared again :)

I saw Willis - he was actually 2 elliptical machines down from me :) I 'ran' 2.16 miles and 'burned' 315 calories and averaged 175 for heart rate... I only did 30 minutes - but I was sweaty and gross afterwards... I could have pushed myself a little harder but I have come to the conclusion that to push myself the most, I should either switch up elliptical machines or not do the same machine 2 days in a row.

This morning I am off to do spinning with or without Catherine - but I hope it is with :)

Oh, and my back hurts in the morning - but I'm trying to just ice it after exercise and ignore it otherwise -because I'm tired of not exercising!

:)

Lovin' it!

I just got back from the gym where I had a GREAT 50 minute workout. The elliptical machine says that I 'ran' 3.12 miles, that I burned 430 calories and my average heart rate was 174...

What I've found out about these machines is that the only thing I can trust out of those 3 numbers is the distance - apparently the calorie burnage and the heart rate won't be acurate - but I can tell you that I pushed myself very hard for 45 minutes and cooled down for 5 minutes and that I sweat a TON and I smell yucky - or at least I smell like someone who just worked out... I'm about to take a shower and then work on job stuff - but I feel wonderful and like I can take on the world!! I'm Lovin' it!!

:)

Update

I just wanted to let you all know that I had a bunch of tests recently and my bad cholesterol (LDL) is within the normal range but on the bad side - but my good cholesterol (HDL) is off the charts!! I am 95% sure that that is the result of the HCC program and my genes of course - yay for the Gervais genes!!

Also I'm slightly anemic and have been told that I can only be vegetarian if I'm aggressive about getting my complete proteins - as of now, I'v decided to hold off being a vegetarian for a little while... though I no longer eat red meat or pork - just fish and (local) poultry.

That's it - I'm heading to the gym in a few minutes!!

Being Prepared :)

After the mishap with water aerobics, I went prepared for spinning, but also had my running shoes with me as well - which turned out great because spinning was canceled - so I took on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes Saturday a.m. I will say that part of my prep 'kit' should include a charged ipod and head phones - I think I could have pushed myself a little farther with some tunes... instead I watched the paper bag princess on saturday morning cartoons - not nearly as motivating - but interesting considering that I loved that book growing up and now there's an animated version...

After the gym, I headed to the farmers market with the intention of only getting turnips for a soup I want to try and ended up getting more goat cheese (yay!) and squash blossoms - that I can apparently stuff with goat cheese and other veggies and bake - and I got onion flowers that you put on salads for a burst of onion flower - you can also use the stalk for whatever = same as green onion stalks. I even got more onions of the small purple variety - apparently there will be a lot of onions in my recipes this week :)

I then cleaned parts of the house - my room, mainly - which was a work out in and of itself - so I made sure to play the ipod that keeps me going... at least I used it once yesterday :)

Today (Sunday) I took an unintentional day off, but I kept moving. I was going to go the gym, but was asked to babysit for some friends who have very active girls who kept me equally active as we played outside all afternoon - so though it wasn't a trip to the gym - it was outdoor activity for 3 hours!!

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to the gym - I'm undecided on a spin class or the elliptical, but of course, you will find out soon enough.

Back update: Saturday I was pain-free except for later in the evening - but I wore my insert all day, so hopefully that was a contributing factor. Today the other part of my back hurt - the pulled side - but it also felt better after wearing the inserts. In fact, at church, I had to leave because it was so painful - but as soon as I got home and iced it then put on shoes with inserts, the pain melted away - slowly - and then I felt it barely at all while babysitting - and I don't feel it at all now - so hopefully we've found a solution :)

Not coloring in the lines

I just drew with purple and green markers all over my body - or at least on all parts that hurt that I could reach. I made a discovery - which I unfortunately had to make on Friday after all doctor offices are closed - and I'm not sure who I'd go to - I suppose a back doctor? But let me back up a bit...

Before the HCC I was having back problems - or rather leg pain and lower back/hip pain. We (Web MD, Bike Shoppe employees, and a friend PT and I) determined that it was probably siatica (sp?) and I did some exercises - but what really helped was getting the lift for my shoe to even out my hips (I have one hip that is higher than the other due to scoliosis) and exercise. After wearing the lift in all possible close-toed shoes and working out as much as I was, the pain went away completely.

Well, it's back - so I suppose I stop wearing the fun summer sandals and go back to close-toed shoes (ugh) and exercising 5-6 times per week.

BUT the pain was so bad tonight, that when I got home from baby-sitting, I chose to use sharpies to draw on my body to pinpoint the pain areas... not sure how this will help because its Friday and I don't know who I'm going to see over the weekend who can help with this - but I took a sharpie and drew first and looked later - so at least I now know where it hurts and can re-draw it - or show someone later... I have 2 friends who have had troubles with sciatica and both had to get MRIs - I don't know whether I should get this checked out or just work out... so we'll see... I'm going to work out for the time being and see what happens... Saturday I'm spinning with Catherine... Tonight I'm taking Motrin and heading to bed - I'm not supposed to take Motrin, but I didn't sleep last night because of the pain and I don't think I can go another sleep-less night...

But all signs are pointing to more gym time :)

swimming?

This morning I went to the gym to do a water aerobics class and found that all water aerobics classes have been canceled until the gym gets a new 'boiler' to heat the pool... I was going to do water aerobics in order to move those back and leg muscles but have them 'cushioned' by the water... bummer.

Well, I decided that since I was at the gym with a bathing suit on that I should swim. I lasted a little over 20 minutes. I didn't take breaks in between each lap, which is good - but 1) I didn't have goggles - and people underestimate the importance of goggles when swimming (!!!) and 2) the pool was COLD - no really, FRIGID... Kathy (works at the pool) said that the temperature was around 70 degrees - cold, cold, COLD... I was hoping a few laps would warm me up, but I just couldn't stand it - I probably would have stayed longer if I had goggles but the combo of no goggles and frigid water had me in there for 25 minutes only... but I do feel better after exercising - my legs are in pain and my hip area is in pain - not sure from what - so I will be stretching a lot today - but as of now, no back pain!

In future, what I should remember:

1) go to gym with more than one option... if water aerobics bound, take goggles in case class is canceled... or if spinning bound, take regular shoes in case I need to switch it up...

2) eat a protein-filled mini-breakfast an hour before working out (not a muffin 20 mins before working out)

3) figure out how to use the damned combo lock so that I can leave stuff in locker, not in car... just to make life a little easier

4) STRETCH before, during, after, whenever...

I plan on spinning tomorrow a.m. with Catherine ~ she's teaching the 9:30AM class at the wellness center if anyone wants to join me... :)

bumps in the road

So I have fallen down again! UGH! I overexerted myself yesterday while gardening and I have the good sore in my arms and legs and the bad sore in my back - YUCK. I have been on muscle relaxers today and I'm not a fan. They made me loopy all day and I feel like I'm in a quagmire. I'm resolute about going to the gym tomorrow a.m. and doing something that gets my heart rate up but doesn't hurt my upper back - suggestions, anyone??

I haven't been to the gym in a while and am feeling awfully sluggish and I don't like it - not one bit!!

On the upside of things, I found a wonderful recipe that I LOVE - and am excited to get more ingredients to make it again - it is so refreshing and it uses most of the items I get from the CSA and will soon get from my garden. I need to plant basil - because though I get it from the CSA, I'd like to have it at my fingertips all summer long. The recipe has tomatoes, basil, peppers and quinoa in it and a simple dressing that is TASTY... It's low in calories for a cup - the majority of the calories coming from the quinoa which is a whole grain and a complete protein... I've been eating it for lunch and it has provided me with lots of energy :)

If anyone wants it, let me know!

Reg & Barb - it's on page 12o of the Grilling cook book I gave you :)

I hope to have a better report tomorrow. I've gained some weight back and I don't feel nearly as good as I did a month ago and I am determined to not fall back into all the old habits... I may need to sanction all alcohol consumption to weekends only with meals - or at least back to the HCC rule of 1 glass of wine a day... plus, I really shouldn't buy milk chocolate - i think I lost my brain on that last shopping outing...

I will say that I LOVE strawberries and they have not lost their appeal even though I have so many in my fridge and freezer... I probably need to get some other fruits in my diet, though... it's been nothing but strawberries since I picked them Monday!

STRAWBERRIES!!!!

Well, the First Flush Festival was A LOT of fun - I didn't dance much, but I walked all over the place - Sarah and I walked up and down and through the tea fields several times and we walked all around the festival itself - and we sat for a little while - but since we were tent 'hoppers' we didn't really have a place to be - so we tent 'crashed' when we saw peeps we knew... but it was a great time!!

Today I picked 16 gallons of strawberries and I walked all over the fields and picked my fruit intake for the summer! I made 8 loaves of strawberry bread that I am promptly giving away and getting out of my house - it is REALLY tasty!! I froze 2 quarts of strawberries for cold munchies or smoothies later this summer, and I currently have 86 left in my fridge for general yummy consumption!!

I didn't eat as well today but really that consisted of eating about 5 times more fruit than I'm supposed to have... and not much else but water... oops... and now I'm exhausted! I've been getting my resumes out there and will continue to do so and apply for jobs until I have one... and I will be heading back to the gym this week to get my quirky back and body worked out. I'm getting back into the system of going to bed early and getting up early - so the 6:30 am workouts may continue... we'll see!

:)

First Flush Dancing :)

Yesterday I did get SEVERAL walks in with dogs - I didn't bike - but am not upset because my back really hurt last night and an additional ride would have made it worse!

I started this morning with an early walk (2 walks - the dogs have to be walked separately). This morning they'll get one more walk (2 for me) around 12:00 and then Sarah and I are heading to the First Flush Festival on Wadmalaw where we will be enjoying the Robert Randolph Family Band - and I, at least, will be dancing... but 'light' dancing so as not to increase pain in my back! I may have a beer - but most likely will stick with tea since we'll be on the tea plantation. :)

Tomorrow I'm turning in resumes, looking for jobs, picking strawberries, and doing calligraphy for my friend (Liz)'s wedding invites :) - YAY!! If anyone wants to go picking with me, let me know - I'd like to go in the morning before it gets too hot.... Mom, are you up for it?? Anyone else?? I'm so excited!! I've been waiting a while to have enough time to do this!!

I would also like to either do spinning at 6pm - depends on my back, or walk the cooper river bridge - if anyone would like to do these, let me know!!

Have a great rest of the weekend!!!

2nd Wake up call...

SO I went walking with Barbara today all over Daniel Island - and when I say all over, I mean it... we got turned around - and could have back-tracked, but instead used her nifty i phone to find a different way back. I think we walked a little over a mile. Barb, being in better shape than I apparently am, stayed a couple of steps ahead of me and I was working hard to keep up... sound familiar?? Kayaking with Jane, I was a little behind the whole time... UGH!!!

The original reason I was going to do the HCC program was to keep up with my wonderfully active companions!!!

Well, my friends, it is time to get back on track... I'm going back to the original diet - but I'm keeping wine on weekends - I'm going back to the original calorie and water in-take. And I'm SERIOUSLY going to log my foods! I'm house sitting this weekend and I didn't even bring my food journal!!?? Clearly I fell off the band wagon! Also, I lost some progress in how clothes fit - and I REFUSE to lose any more ground! I'm going to use the MUSC Weight Management graph to track my progress with daily weigh-ins. And I'm going to look through my pantry with a serious 'eye' and get rid of (again) the things that have crept in during my HCC absence.

Also, some of you who missed the blog called me to see how I was doing - YAY!! I'd rather have the concerned call - I'm not completely off the HCC band wagon, but I do feel like I could get bumped off if I hit another speed bump...

So I'm back - and I'm not going to half-ass it; I'm back for real - which means getting my butt in gear at the gym as well. Word on the street is that I can get a gym-assigned trainer to help me run through machines once... and now would be the perfect time because my back still really hurts - so I need to find the exercises I CAN do instead of focusing on those I can't and using my back as an excuse - Barb and I had a great walk today and walking is 'allowed.'

Plan for the weekend: Bike tomorrow or walk (while at this house, they have a beach cruiser which has a better posture for those with hurt backs) - or do both :) I have to walk one dog 3-4 times a day and the other dog 4-5 times a day - so yay for active dogs (?) - Sunday morning - walking dogs and then dancing at the First Flush Festival with Sarah H. :)

NO MORE LOSING GROUND!!!

I'm BACK

I promise I'm back - and I've thought about writing to all of you everyday that I've been away!! Last week I worked out everyday - or at least Wednesday-Sunday... then Monday I had strange muscle issues that led to my taking muscle relaxers through today... I cut the grass yesterday and I've been walking - but I've been told not to do exercise that works my back... so riding, spinning, elliptical - those are all out - but hopefully I'll be able to do a long ride on Saturday - ?? If not, walking it is... ugh. Basically after a LONG kayak excursion Saturday when i paddled against tide and wind, I did something bad to my upper back and my chest muscles and was in A LOT of pain on Monday and Tuesday. It still hurts but not nearly as badly.

I've been doing okay with my eating - I think after I'm done working at MDA (Friday = last day), I will be doing better because chocolate was always readily available and I had trouble staying away.

Barbara has agreed to let me email her my food logs - which I'll start today.. unfortunately, my house is not getting internet right now - not sure why - but I'm house-sitting this weekend, so I will be on here for the next couple of days - and hopefully every day afterwards with a little more regularity!!

This coming Wednesday, we have another HCC meeting about organic foods and tips for buying organic without breaking the bank... and we will be weighing in!! They are also going to show the movie, 'Food, Inc.'

More to come later - but I promise I'm back for good - I now have an alarm on my new phone that goes off to remind me to drink water, eat healthy, and write on the blog!!

:)