Disneyland Walking

Two different sons are planning Disney Vacations, and both have invited me.

One is this October, to Disneyland, and one next September to Disney World.  I absolutely love the grandchildren and look forward to these trips, but oh the physical part....!

One more reason to get walking....Mickey Mouse, here I come!

Lots of cool Disney clipart here.

Weekly Update, Slimmer this Summer

I went to camp. I didn't take my pedometer but I wished I had. I forgot that part of my commitment.

I walked. and walked. and walked. Over and over again, until finally Thursday night I couldn't walk to the bathrooms one more time.  I got into my car and drove to a nearby campground with a bathroom with a parking lot attached.  Two leaders quickly joined me, and two of the girls didn't mind a ride either.

When I went later (I always take two bathroom stops at night!) one of the girls offered to be my buddy. She thought it was a fun secret that we slipped over to the "flush toilets" in the car.

I found out tonight that our young women's president (an adult in her 60's) was driving over there every night all week!  I also found out she had blisters from Monday on, which I could have been treating for her with my handy moleskin and lidocaine antiseptic wash.

She's not a whiner.  Sometimes it pays to be a whiner.

When it came time to volunteer to go on hikes with the girls--and this was only Tuesday-- we sat and waited for a short hike to be announced. Passed on the three miler, then on the five miler, then another three. We had heard there were one and a half mile hikes for some of the girls. Then they announced that they needed a few leaders to stay back at the shelter and put up a volleyball net. Our hands shot up!  Best of all, a couple of the men stayed back, and they did the net for us!

Note to self: all this walking was a good start. Keep it up.  

Did I mention that I hurt everywhere and my feet were swollen up Friday night and Saturday?  I went to bed every night of camp with incredible pain in my legs, and two nights I gave up and took a muscle relaxant and ibuprofen.  I had to sleep somehow.

Anyway, I wish I knew how far I had walked. 

With all that, I did lose weight. 0.4 lbs.  Maybe it'll be a little better tomorrow. I think I still have a tiny bit of swelling in my feet, and who knows where else. I did not log my food but I should have because I know I ate too much. However I think I also used up all that energy and then some.  I was so tired by the time we went home on Friday that I ran a red light, took a wrong turn, missed a mailbox by inches, and started crying (fortunately after I dropped off all the girls.)

Yoga, anyone?  Right after another nap.

More Excuses

Late family chat resulting in 1 a.m. bedtime...

getting up at 9 a.m., having to leave by 10,

taking K and the boys to the doctor...
had to bribe Mr T. with ice cream but he did okay...

then it took forever to find an ice cream shop (and I was so good, I didn't eat any!)

it's easy to resist ice cream when your stomach hurts,

(one more excuse for not exercising today)

and then we got home by almost 3 p.m., and I had to pick up Missy L. by 3:40

and we got our project done, and I took her to meet her dad at dance,

(and a big hug from Missy M.) so I'm free now.

but I think I need the bathroom,

and the laundry is piled up because I haven't been feeling good...

but I WILL walk!  (6:40 p.m.)

8:56 p.m.

Never Mind! T. invited me to ride bikes and we went for about 40 minutes, and my legs are wobbly like jello so I guess it counts!  I love springtime!

Contest Progress

One of the requirements for the contest is to attend 2 of the 4 offered seminars.  We asked how many people had signed up for the contest, and were told it was about 60 people, which works out to about 12-15 in each age group. Not too bad. Only one of the people there looked like she might be in my age and fitness bracket and therefore be serious competition.

At any rate, I figured the 9 of us in attendance had a head start on the competition!

Onward! I am now walking about 2 miles a day, and I lost another pound, in spite of having to slow down for my stitches. I guess it was enough to keep my metabolism up.

Now I just need to hide the awesome chocolate cake I made today. And remind myself again of the important question: Which is more important--this piece of cake or my long-term health and fitness?

Progress Report: Week 4

That makes us 1/3 of the way through the initial 12-week program. We didn't miss a day, though on Wednesday we walked our whole 2 miles around the parking lot at my work instead of indoors with the DVD.
That's because my car broke down, and we had to wait for Mitch to come fix it. We couldn't walk later because we were attending a Cub Scout "banquet".

I have followed my food plan for 30 days. I want a chip like they give out in AA that has a big 30 on it. You fasten it to your keytag as a reminder to keep it up.
Hmmm...a stop at Genesis Books might be in order this week.

First 3-miler!

Whew! We made it through the first 3-mile walk, using Leslie Sansone's Super Fat Burning DVD. This one, like all 3-milers, uses weights, but we did it without the weights as she recommends for week 2 of the program.

Hot, sweaty, tired, red-faced, but happy! We made it! Thank you Leslie!

Next week we repeat week 2. I'm looking forward to another 3-miler, as long as it is a week away!

Better Balance

I did one hour of "Yoga for the Young at Heart". (an easier class than the regular one the gym offers, and one hour later than the other, which I really like.) I can tell you my balance is way better than it was before I started walking. Not perfect yet, but the difference is incredible.

Our one mile was so easy. Two weeks ago it was so hard. What a miracle the body really is. God is gracious to encourage change.

Blood Pressure Drop

After 2-3 weeks of yoga once or twice a week, my blood pressure dropped about 20 points (systolic).
After 2 more weeks of walking, without dropping the yoga, I dropped 30 more points. It is now 100/68. My doctor was delighted! I was on the verge of BP meds, and now it is perfect. I wish I could write to Leslie Sansone and tell her!

Beginning (sort of)

I am two weeks into my mission of getting back in shape. Since I will be 50 in a little less than two years, I have adopted as my motto "Fit by 50!"

I am taking a two-part approach to this:

1) making careful food choices, balance portions and types of food.

2) exercise. My husband and I are working together to do Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. The basic program is a 6-week program, but we are doing each week twice to make it more feasible. Her program is a low-impact aerobic program, based on simple walking movements with arm movements added, and eventually resistance exercises added as well. Leslie is upbeat and easy to follow, so we enjoy her so far.

We just finished our 2nd week, and found the two-mile Saturday workout to be quite a bit easier than we expected. Our first week, we actually walked two miles on Saturday since it was a nice day, but I think the combination of movements on the dvd was a better workout and not so tiring because of the variety.

On the other hand, you can't stop and talk to neighbors while you are in front of the TV, so it's a tradeoff.