Friday, May 11, 2012

Week 1 recap

I promise the titles of these posts will get more interesting and there will not generally be a weekly recap.

I envision this blog being update roughly 4-5 times a week. I will not set myself to any particular days or topics because I never want to post something just to post something.

Monday: Day 1. the first day of a new diet or exercise program is always deceptively easy. Yes, for a day I can not drink soda, eat a bunch of garbage, and can walk for 30 minutes. HA! Devious little bitch, that first day is. It was going along fine until it came time for me to walk. I had not yet created a walking playlist (if you know me, I am an occasion playlist fanatic), so I almost scrapped it, but Martina had once told me that Mumford and Sons was great walking music, so I went for it. With Raymond in hand, I ventured off to walk around the neighborhood in which I have resided for 9 months and about which I am still clueless. Raymond was not pleased about being dragged into my weight loss program, shooting me "Fool, I ain't the fat one" looks, and I did not have the heart to tell him that he is overweight. Also, he is a dog and communicating with him in English would be foolish. As we came to the pleasantly named Tulip lane, Raymond and I were startled by two cops with tranquilizer guns drawn. I figured they were hunting some sort of wild animal, which in the past would have caused me major panic, but we moved on. As we turned the corner, BAM! 7 cop cars and 12 cops telling me to cross the street, but with the crazy banjo of Mumford jamming in my ear, I just heard mumbling and waving. We crossed the street and Raymond saw a shady grass patch and called it a day. He was not agreeable to continuing. We made it home safely and Raymond guzzled water as best a dog his size can guzzle something.

Day 3: The biggest problem for my exercise idea will be the tendinitis in not 1 but 2 knees. (why did I not just say both knees? Like I have some random third knee somewhere)Wednesday, Tendinitis not only stopped by, it made camp right on my right knee. The pain caused my entire leg to lock up in the middle of teaching. I had to take the day off of walking and realized, this summer, I need to find various pools in which I can swim. I prefer swimming anyway, but have never lived with the luxury of a pool. (more on pain in a bit)

Day 4: This was the day that had me worried most this week. My Thursday routine of a Togo's sandwich, chips and a soda was about to be slapped across the face by my will power. I DID IT! Boom! Not only did I only get a 6 inch sub (usually I go big), I got it on whole wheat bread, I got a very low calorie sandwich, no mayo and I even had them drop a tomato on that thing. Also, I dissed the chips all together and most importantly, drank flavored Iced Tea with just two quick shots of lemonade. I am not going to lie to you or to myself, I missed the soda. I missed it big time, but the Iced Tea was not gross. The sandwich was really good as well. Overall, it was a success. The walk happened at an ungodly hot hour, which was stupid, but I covered more ground in the same amount of time, as my body slowly gets used to this whole having energy for walking thing.

A few random thoughts:

I need to remember that there is a difference between pain and injury. My body is incredibly out of shape. I am in pain all of the time, which is a big reason I decided a change was needed. I am sick of waking up and hurting, sitting up and hurting and just hurting in a general fashion. Being obese is physically painful. I do not recommend this as a life choice to anyone. My joints ache, my back hurts, my legs make unholy sounds at the slightest movement. it is incredibly uncomfortable. Okay, getting away from the point, the point is, I have to fight through the pain. If I am injured, I chill out, but the pain is something I need to learn to fight through, otherwise I will just give up like usual. Any reason to quit right?? Ugh, I hate my mentality sometimes.

One of the things I have noticed this week is that sometimes it is just small decisions that can change your attitude, or motivation. Thursday at Sac State, I opted for the stairs instead of the elevator and it just gave me an extra boost because it was a GOOD decision I made just as it happened. There was no thinking about it before, I just thought, 3 flights of stairs should not be able to conquer me, so why do I let them conquer me every damn week?

My biggest question right now is whether or not to give myself a cheat day with soda. Do I allow it once a week? Or do I not even risk it?

4 comments:

  1. Do you have a good set of earbuds for your iPod or mp3 player? I look forward to my walks when I have my music playing :)

    I hear you on the pain. I've noticed that my overall pain (for me it is mainly my back) has decreased since I'm putting less weight on it. That pain will make you want to slow down or take it easier but keep the finished product in mind : a pain free life! You can do it!! It sounds like an awesome first week. I'll take the stairs next time, you inspired me!

    Erik

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  2. Oh! Second thought. High quality walking/ hiking shoes are a fantastic investment. Going from walking in converse to my Cascadias made a huge difference in my stamina and form.

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  3. I loved soda but hated the caffeine and sugar. Now I'm hooked on Seltzer Water. If it's the burn you love when drinking soda (that's what I loved most) then try seltzer water. It has NO sodium like regular sparkling water. I'm addicted to it and it's so refreshing. If you gotta have the sugar add juice or some kind of sugar free flavoring to it. I still want to know who the cops used the tranquilizer gun on!

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  4. I wouldn't take a "cheat" day once a week with soda. In my experience, it will just re-ignite your craving for it. I think staying away from it altogether is easier in the long run. This is the voice of experience talking: I stopped drinking soda one week ago today! But seriously, I recently read some terrifying (well, for me it was, anyway) new research that proves the adverse affects of diet soda are in some ways worse than regular soda! The artificial sweeteners do very bad things to our bodies. That finally got me to swear it off. I'm not yet ready to give up caffeine, though, so I found a "cocktail" that I enjoy: a half a glass of unsweetened tea, a splash (only a splash, 'cuz I don't need a lot of sugar or calories) of regular juice (berry, lemonade, something like that) for added flavor, and a half a glass of sparkling water. I pour it all over ice, and it is yummy! Not quite as good as soda, but very refreshing.

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