Bike Adjustments

Photo from Pixabay.com

On my last bike ride, I had a little knee soreness, so I raised the seat another inch. This is great!

The only problem is that I now find the handlebars a little too low.  I started looking at YouTube videos on bike adjustments, and none of them quite fit the way my handlebars attach. Perhaps this is because I have a cheap bike.  I did learn more about how to fit a bike, including moving the seat back or forward if needed--and how to know if it's needed. I don't know if my bike seat can be adjusted like that.  If not, I'll probably go buy a new seat. This one is pretty much worn out.  

I may just take my bike to a bike shop to adjust the handlebars and get a proper fit. It would be worth a few dollars just to have future rides be so much more comfortable, and not to get neck soreness from having to look way up.

6 Days into Workout Program 3

It took me until yesterday to get my goal sheets reworked, and I already had 5 stickers to put on!

I'm doing much the same as last time around; the goal is 40 days of yoga and 40 days of aerobics, with a few small changes. I will ride my bike a little more often. I'm doing 30 days of Yoga Camp (still Adriene) plus other yoga programs interspersed at regular intervals.

Yoga Camp is a little more intense than 30 Days was, but I think I am ready for it.  I can do all the basic moves; I enjoy the variations she puts in now and then.

Cutting Out Sugar

I thought I had a pretty low-sugar diet, but when my doctor told me what I need to do to fight off impending diabetes, I nearly panicked. It's overwhelming. It's too much to do all at once on top of all the other changes I need to make.

Well, it really is too much. I decided to break it down into weekly, manageable steps. This first week, I am cutting out adding sugars to drinks or food. Smoothies? Use stevia. By leaving out sugar, I am discovering the actual flavors of the foods. No more sugar to mask sour blackberries--just be very picky when buying them.  No sugar to sweeten up my bowl of quinoa.  No sugar in a glass of lemonade. That's kind of tough. And herb tea?  Discover its original flavor if it has any. Take time to drink it slowly and let the flavor sink in.

Maybe it's a good thing I already had to cut out chocolate, because I can't imagine chocolate without added sugar.  Yuck!  But this makes it that little bit easier.  So, that's week one.

Another Small Goal Reached.

I went below a magic number today!  It's not an official goal, just one of those multiples of things that sticks in your minds.

Hurray!  I had stalled out for a while, and then this week I finally broke the barrier.

Paleo Diet or Heart Diet? Why not both?

The doctor went over my recent heart screening and there was a lot of warning red ink on there!  She also said I am pre-diabetic.  And this after  six months of exercise and eating less. I hate to think what they were before.

Now she wants me to make over my diet even more.  The official name of the diet is the "IFM CARDIOMETABOLIC FOOD PLAN."

From the cover of the "Comprehensive Guide for the IFM Cardiometabolic Food Plan."  

She said it's really quite a bit like the paleo diet.  I do have to cut back sugar almost entirely, and fruits to no more than two a day.  My poor sweet tooth is going to feel awfully deprived until I get used to it.  And my poor husband has to deal with all this as I adapt to one food change after another. This is a crazy journey.

In addition to the heart issues, my cortisol levels are not dropping in the evening like they should, which is why I can't fall asleep at night, so I've got a new supplement that may help with that.  If I can start getting decent rest, that should help me regain my energy.  I'll let you know...

Bike Ride

I aimed for 5 miles today, but when I mapped it I was at 4.79 miles.  It got hard a couple of times but I kept telling myself "You can do this."  Until finally, I was far enough out that I told myself, "You can do it. You have to. It's the only way home."

And I cheerfully found my way home. I did walk the last bit as a cool-down, but hey, my legs are moving. That counts, right?

Look what I did!

Fibro Flare--Or answer to prayer?

For no apparent reason, I woke up in pain this morning, and it has pretty much lasted all day.  I don't know why.  Just a big fibro flare. It happens now and then and I can't always pinpoint the cause.

For a couple of days I've been praying about a possible action, one I am not sure we can handle physically, financially, or emotionally this summer.  It's something I really want to do, and it might be a big help to someone else, but I have to count the cost.  I had come close to deciding against it, but I don't want to be selfish either. I prayed for wisdom and kindness in making the decision, for some way to know the right action.

Today's huge pain flare gives me the answer. The proposed action is simply more than I can handle at this time.  I need to keep taking care of myself. Hopefully in the future I will be able to serve more as I see to getting my body back to health.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh said: 

My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.  

Tacitus, a Roman historian and writer, said:

"Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin."  

In this case nobody is demanding anything; it is something I wanted to offer.  But my life cannot implement it at this time.  I must use wisdom and order.  We have a verse in our church that I must keep in mind when I want to overdo life: 

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.

It's a matter of focus. Whatever the prize may be personally, whatever the goal, I need to pace myself and not use more strength than I have.  I believe that overdoing it, wearing myself out when we moved last year, is what led to my immune system crash and extreme fatigue that I am still experiencing in the form of virus and infections.

Even Jesus Christ took time out to rest when needed, and to allow his disciples rest, as shown in the following Bible scripture:

And he said unto [the Twelve], Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
And they departed into a desert place by ship privately (Mark 6:31–32).

The following quote has direct application to today's dilemma:

Wisdom comes through suffering.

Trouble, with its memories of pain,

Drips in our hearts as we try to sleep,

So men against their will

Learn to practice moderation.

Favours come to us from gods.

― Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Physical Therapy Part 2

I went back to the physical therapist and she was quite happy with my progress, resulting in her giving me several new exercises. They don't take long, but added to the workout routine I already do, they are starting to stack up. Hopefully they will strengthen the areas needed and my body will adjust so that I don't have to do them forever.

Mall Walking and Major Storms

Just to get out of the house today after a meeting was canceled, we went to the mall to walk. It was hot outside, but not as hot as it had been earlier, and it was clouding up.  It started raining by the time we got there, so I was glad we went indoors to walk.

As we headed into the mall, I commented that we'd had some storms, but nothing like the way Iowa storms roll across the prairie, which is surprising given the lack of hills or mountains here.  I guess I dared the sky, because tonight I am enjoying a rollicking thunderstorm.  It is booming and rolling and flashing lightning in a most satisfying manner.  It's like Indiana is saying, "Oh yeah?  I'll show you a storm!"

Not in my PJ's Any More

I got frustrated a few times while doing downward dog and plank poses in yoga. I needed to see down the whole length of my body to monitor myself, and my loose p.j. tops would fall and get in the way. One day I got up and put on a pair of yoga pants and tight tank top that I had bought to wear with a swimsuit.

Besides being able to see better, I felt different.  I discovered that when I put on workout clothing, I felt stronger, more powerful, like I could work harder and improve.  I like this feeling, so I started wearing workout clothes every day. I feel more like an athlete.

I treat them a bit like high school gym clothes, minus the locker.  I hang them on a hook at the back of my bedroom door for airing out, and wash them on the weekend. I do have more than one set, in case I really don't want to wear them all week. Unlike gym, I wear clean socks on the days my workouts require shoes.  I have a strong dislike of dirty socks. Once they are off my feet, even if they've only been on for a little while, I am done with them. Into the laundry they go!

When I'm out in public, I like to have modest clothing on, so I bought a t-shirt style, fitted but not skin-tight workout shirt for bike rides.  It'll be nice because it won't catch the wind the way my looser t-shirts do.  Now I'm excited for my next ride, later this week.

And...some new exercises!

I've got this little medical problem, not serious, but annoying, so I went to a specialist. After examination, she sent me to a physical therapist.

I really like it when physical therapists take time to educate me about how things work.  This one was really good. She had an anatomical model of how this particular body section works, and explained how it ties in with other parts of the body, so what I do with her should help more than one area. Bonus!

I also like it that she didn't overload me with exercises. I just have three new ones. Two I can do in bed before I even get up, and the other fits nicely at the end of a yoga routine.  Or I could do them all while I lay there on my yoga mat.  Either way, it's easy.

What made me really happy is that they go to physical therapy first, before considering drugs, medical devices, or surgical options. If I do my part, I should be able to avoid those.

I'm glad I'm already well into the habit of working out, so these assimilate easily.  It seems like less of a big thing to add to my day.

Goal Failure--Restart Needed!

From Dave Ramsey on Facebook

The quote above is an interesting thought. He didn't say anything about reaching the goals, only about how you see your situation.

I know that keeping a chart helps me stick with the workout part of my goals, but I have been failing at the "after breakfast" part, especially since we started having "dinner" earlier in the day.  It seems like once that's over, and my husband has gone to work, I have let my day get derailed.  And it's only 2:00 in the afternoon.

I like this thought, because whether it's a financial goal, as Dave Ramsey focuses on, or a fitness goal, or getting a job, or whatever, writing it down is a step toward seeing it become clear.  

I have a goal of getting a job in a library, and I know the steps I need to take.  I need to write them down and check them off daily just like my other goals. When I write them down, including the mini-goals it will take, I will see them more clearly and it will seem more possible instead of discouraging. I had a phone interview last week, but I didn't have a feeling of success at the end, and I was right. 

I think one of the goals should be to keep a record of interview questions I am asked, going back after interviews to review the question and other possible answers, until I can do them comfortably.

 I also need to focus some attention on the goals I already have, finishing up the day's quotas before I go off on distractions.

There, now I am feeling more focused, not such a failure.  Now I need to take the actions, not just meditate upon them.  But even the thinking, preparing to write them down, is part of the process.  Off to find a pencil...