80/144 days

It’s been awhile since I wrote about this and figured it was time to record. I have 80 days or 11 weeks left before the 5K or 10K shows up.

I can probably take refuge yet again behind the busy time and space in my head and life for my absence here and on the progress (albeit slow) of my humble efforts to get fit. If you think am being self-deprecating and joking on the efforts, I assure you, I am not.

I have never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would one day be sitting here counting calories, watching my diet, and working my butt off with the pains that drown me, mentally and emotionally draining, and how in a very detached second person way, am actually going through the motions. The demands on the body and  mind as a mother, wife and everything else, the stress that comes with dreams unfulfilled and all the time keeping that monkey on your back happy. It’s challenging. Yet, Here I am and there is no choice but to go forward.

Eyes are placed in the front to look ahead and we pull our socks up and off we go.

So, here we go:

Exercise:

• I have managed to go thrice/week to the gym through the last two weeks.
• Yoga has been maintained and am very proud to see my body do the movements in a more smoother familiar fashion, that I didnt think I was capable of. Shows you that when you keep at something, the body and mind do not have a choice but to get better at it.
• I am enjoying the aqua classes immensely, and have figured out that instructors can vary in their intenstity and demands on you, and that’s a good thing.
• I’ve also started taking the dog out for walks and longer walks, and managing a little close to 2 miles before the shins act up. Still no way closer to the pi-miler and the 5K, but I’ll get there. Remember: I could barely walk around the block before my knees gave in when I started? Yeah.
• The stationary bike has been great. I changed my target from time to kicking in 250 calories. It helps. Some days I manage 4 miles, some it is 6 miles, and the time is anywhere between 20 minutes to 30 minutes. I like it. Except that am not biking on the Memorial Day weekend, so apart from strengthening my heart a bit, I will need to start walking. Which is not hard considering there are occasional signs of spring before they get scared back into the ground coz of the finicky weather.
• I feel limber. Feeling limber is awesome. Not having to brace when you have to get off the couch or off the floor.
• I also have started some quad strengthening exercises that I do while sitting down tapping away at this laptop 🙂

Diet:

• I started Weight Watchers. It’ s a good program to get your eating habits in order. I was never a binge-eater or a heavy eater, so tracking every bit I eat doesn’t really swallow points, but I do want to stick with it for 3 months and see where it takes me. I don’t prowl the forums or do heavy duty reading, and I have not religiously written since a few days in my log on what I eat everyday, but it has helped. I have lost 4 pounds since 3 weeks. Not much, but it’s a positive sign and it shows. Maybe just paying someone else so you can be conscious of what you eat is not as idiotic as it sounds. 🙂
• Disclaimer: I am not obese (acc to CMS), nor do I look obese. I just am not what I was 2 years ago. Understandable considering it all. Yet, I know that I carry a lot of un-necessary weight around me and am determined to lose it for the greater good of the family. So, am garnering all the possible help I can get. 
• I’ve embraced quinoa and brown rice. It’s been a detached adoption. I no longer feel the craving for the few foods I once did. I eat coz I have to keep the hunger down. The shift in view has helped. It would be another matter if I absolutely hated what am eating, but I don’t. I make food palatable enough for my head and body to accept it. I need to find more spicy snacks though.. just eating fruits and carrots are not going to take me far.
• It took some effort to get to this place. Removing distractions (including un-following some foodie bloggers, coz food is their passion and it is my call to take care of me) is one step closer to staying on target.

Thought for the week:

Faith: I believe I can do it. I believe that one day I will be able to walk pain-free. I believe I will one day, without hesitation, be asked by my children to accompany them to Disney or a college visit and I will do so without having to worry about the miles I will need to cover. For now, it is one step at a time.

One gym day at a time and one stretch at a time.

Verdict:

The rhythm has set in, and as much as I am scrambling for time to do all that I *want* to do versus all that I *have* to squeeze in to, this is a good thing. There are immense challenges as I attack the pantry and the kitchen every day, what with the various dietary conditions and whims in the family, but if this is what it takes to get where I (we) have to get, then this is what it will take.

I must register for the Pi-Miler, but now that the course details are out, I plan on doing the course this week and the next and see how much I clock it.

For now, it is one step at a time.