Keeping My Fingers Crossed

I picked my Father up from the airport today then headed to the hospital to see Grandpa. The nurses had lessened his sedation so he’d be a little more alert once Dad got there. He looked so much better than I had expected. In fact, he was able to respond to our questions with a very small nod or shake and at one point he even had a slight smile when Dad was joking with him.

The Doctor said that he has a blood clot in his leg and lung but they’re hoping the blood thinner will allow the clots to stay where they are so the body can break them up. His kidneys are functioning better as well. After a little while they had to up his sedation again because his breathing was getting too labored.

The visit lifted my spirits and gives me a some hope that he may pull through this. The Doctor said he’s still critically ill, but he’s doing better than he was Tuesday when they said he wasn’t going to pull through. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps improving!

Today’s the Day

I started my new diet today. Although, I guess I should call it “nutrition lifestyle” instead of diet. Basically, I’m in the process of cutting out all processed foods, breads, rice, and grains from my diet. Being that I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), I am supposed to be eating a very limited amount of carbs. Most people with PCOS also have insulin resistance (and I do) which can be brought on by a diet high in refined carbs. That describes my diet most of my life. I never liked vegetables, so I never ate them…other than green beans. Cakes, candy, cookies…mmmm…I could live on sweets alone. Unfortunately, the sweets were reeking havoc on my system.

Earlier this year I went to my well woman exam and they did blood work. I just knew it would come back saying I was a type 2 diabetic…or at least a pre-diabetic. My diet had been poor for so long that I figured it was just a matter of time before it caught up with me. Luckily, the results came back A-OK except for a couple of things. My hormone levels were a little out of whack (thanks to PCOS) and I had too much yeast in my system. The doctor had told me to cut out all foods with yeast. Have you seen what all has yeast in it? EVERYTHING!! So, I said “sure sure” and went on about my business.

I had been eating decently this past year. My main concern was watching calories instead of the types of food I was eating. I’m finally starting to realize just how fragile life/health is and that it needs to be taken care of regardless of how “hard” it may be. So, that’s what lead me to where I am today. I’m already craving carbs! It will probably take a while before those cravings are gone, but I’ve kicked the cravings before so I’ll do it again. My main hope is that this will help me get my hormone levels back to normal and in the meantime help me lose some weight as well!

This past weekend I went to Shreveport to celebrate my Grandparents’ (Dad’s side) 59th wedding anniversary. I had a blast. I forgot all about exercise and eating correctly. We had rich, calorie/sugar laden foods and plenty of high calorie drinks. While I probably gained a couple of pounds (after that pecan pie…mmmm) but I’m not going to beat myself up for the way I ate. I knew I was starting the new way of eating today, so I enjoyed my refined carbs while I could.

Going Half Crazy

This morning….I did something I never thought I’d do. I signed up for a 1/2 marathon. YIKES!!

So, I will start training for my half marathon this month! I’m so excited! I won’t be running all of it, as I’m not a good runner. I will be running/walking. So far I have no problem going 5 miles, so I think I’m in a good place. At least I’m not starting from scratch.

This morning my Mom sent me some photos from our trip to Gettysburg two years ago. She had just found her camera and her pictures! Unfortunately, the photos were less than flattering! The good news: I’m smaller now than I was then. The bad news: There’s still a long way to go. I’ll upload 1 of the pictures she sent that’s acceptable (though not good).

 

October 2008

April 2010

On another note: This morning I vanquished my evil scale to the dark depths of my linen closet so it wouldn’t vex me anymore. For now, I will go by how I feel and weigh myself once a month. My weight was going up and down so quickly (10-12 lb swing in a day) that I was starting to get very frustrated and discouraged. While I want to lose weight, I much prefer feeling better and being healthier. Therefore, I will not allow my emotions/moods to be controlled by a number.

I Did It!!

Today is the last day of October and the end of October’s Going the Distance Challenge. I am happy to report that I made my goal of 50 miles and even added 2 to it! That is the most mileage that I’ve done in a month…ever. My reward was going to be a pair of boots but my calves are too large still to get the ones I’d like. I may end up getting something else instead.

I wasn’t going to, but I decided to go ahead and sign up for November’s Going the Distance Challenge as well. This time the goal is 60 miles. My overall goal is to actually workout more often instead of waiting and having to do 4-6 miles every workout.

So…who all’s with me?!

My hips are quite sore right now. I’m guessing it’s a combination of doing so many more miles than I’m used to and not giving my hips time to strengthen up.

Hippo Birdie Two Ewe

Sunday was my 35th birthday. My brother is 2 years (and 1 day) older than me and seems to have a hard time adjusting to getting older. Age has never really bothered me. Turning 21 was exciting because I got to go to Vegas, but I wasn’t really a drinker so I didn’t care about being of “legal age”. 30 was no biggie either. So, Sunday was just another day.

When I think about myself, I picture myself at 28…not sure why, but I do. I don’t think I’ve changed much since then. Physically, anyway (except for the silver hair poking out here and there). I have come to accept there are certain things I can do and certain things I can’t. I’m more confident in my abilities and enjoy trying new things.

My Dad used to tell me “If you’re going to lose weight, make sure you lose the bulk of it before 35. Once I hit 35, my skin stopped snapping back.” So, since I’ve drug ass and not lost the weight I needed to, I guess I’ll test this theory out!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this month, I joined a challenge put together by Robby.  I am at 35 miles! That’s only 2 miles shy of my highest mileage…ever…and 15 miles away from my 50 mile goal. I have no doubt I’ll make my goal, but unfortunately, I haven’t lost enough off my calves to get the boots I wanted as reward. Oh well…guess I’ll have to find something else!

Yes, I am embarrassed about my August and September numbers. Last November I only got 3 miles in, I think I’ll beat that this November! Good luck to all of you #OctGTD folks pushing to get it done this week!

http://fatgirlvsworld.blogspot.com/

Eh?? Whadya Say?

I’m feeling a bit blah today. It appears I have an ear infection taking root. It has literally been about 20 years since I’ve had an ear ache. I am supposed to have some time off next week, so this stuff better go away fast! I want to enjoy my time off!

On another note, I haven’t exercised at all this week. Eek….I will try to get 4-5 miles in today. If not, then I’ll try to get 2 miles in every day for the rest of the week. Hopefully this ear thing won’t cause me to be extra clumsy!

Have a good Tuesday y’all.

Going the Distance

I knew I had been very lax about my workouts lately, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until I looked at my stats on the Daily Mile. I did really well for a while…had a rough May, then a horrible August and September…EEK. And we’re 2 days away from October.

So, to help combat the “I don’t wannas” I’ve joined the October Going the Distance Challenge over at Fat Girl Vs. World. I set a goal of 50 miles for me by the end of October. As you can see by the chart above, that’s a lofty goal! But…I think it’s a good goal. 25 miles would have been too easy. Gotta push it!

So…you wanna join me?!

Life Changes and Tough Decisions

Lately I haven’t been doing anything to lose weight. I have been making sure I don’t binge, but by the time I get home now I’m tired and don’t want to spend an hour working out when I only have about 3 hours before bedtime. That’s my first problem. It should be a priority to get my workout in.

So, lately I’ve been thinking about making some pretty big life decisions. I won’t say what they are just yet because I’m not sure if I’m actually going to do it or not. However, it would definitely allow me to put myself as a priority. That being said, I will update again as soon as I decide what I’m going to do.

It was in the high 70’s – low 80’s today! wahoo! I may try to hop on the treadmill when I get home. Since it’s in our unventilated garage, I was waiting for it to get out of the 90’s before hopping on. Well, that and the fact that I’ve had no motivation!

Another 2/2 Day

Today was my second day of 2 minutes walking/2 minutes running. It kicked my butt this go ’round. I was ready for my last set to be done so I could go home. However, I still felt pretty happy with it. I did have to slow down a little bit, but I gave it all I had. After the intervals were done I walked at a slow pace for about 5 minutes. So, dripping sweat I drug myself to my car, cranked up the air, guzzled my water, and headed back to the office to pick Mike up.

When we got home there was a suuuur-prize waiting in the mailbox!

That’s right, I got my RoadID in! I ordered one for my Mother and Father for their days (mom and pop days) and I got one for myself for races and working out. Mike is normally with me when we get to the race, but he does his thing and I do mine so it’s a good idea to have something like this with me. Mom and Dad go hiking/walking a lot by themselves, so this will be good for them too. Mom’s is purple (an odd watered down grape kool aid color) and Dad’s is red. I decided to go with Pink…the yellow is somewhat nice. Michelle has it, but yellow makes my olive skin look sick! So, my other choices were black, blue, purple, red or pink. So, I decided to show my support for Susan G. Komen and got the pink!

Stenosis…Part 3

Since September 2009 I’ve managed to lose 20 pounds. While it’s not fast, it’s lasting and that’s all that matters. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed my throat is closing up again so I sound awful any time I exert myself.

I went for another check up in Jan. 2010 with Dr. D. He said everything looked ok but was a little swollen because of the cold weather. I’m supposed to go back at the end of the summer for him to check it again. At that point, we will more than likely schedule a second dilation. I’m hoping to have lost another 20 pounds by that point.

I’ve done several races (5K) with this problem and I’m still working out every week. I’ve found as I get into my workouts eventually my throat relaxes some and I’m able to get some more air but it’s still not where it needs to be. I try not to push myself too hard so I’m not huffing and puffing. In order to get a good amount of oxygen I have to take long deep breaths because short fast breaths just don’t work for me. I do the best I can with what I have. At this point, I’m trying to run again. So far so good!

Before I started my Woodlands Fit I asked Dr. D if it was ok to do the 12 week running program. He said “Sure, I have patients with the same problem you have that are able to run 3 or 4 miles. You obviously won’t be able to do long distance, but you can do several miles.” So, that sealed the deal. My cousin Kelly joined with me so I knew at least one person, and that one person knew about my issues. I had to explain my breathing problems to my coach so she would understand why I wasn’t necessarily doing everything that the others were doing.

During the Muddy Trails on 4/3/2010 one of the medics on a bike followed me for a while then asked if I was ok. I said yes…well, it was more of a grunt and head shake. He said “well, you’re wheezing an awful lot.”

My response was “I’m allergic to dust.”

Which I am, but that wasn’t the entire problem! He followed me for about another quarter mile, then after deciding I wasn’t going to pass out, he left me alone.

I get funny looks from people when I’m out running/walking because I do sound horrible. At least, to my ears I sound like I’m dying so I can just imagine what other people actually hear. The people that know about my condition have learned to just ignore it, but there are those that don’t know and keep shooting glances at me which I’m sure are to ensure I’m not going to plotz right there. I often wonder how many people are trying to recall how to perform CPR when they see me! Sorry guys/gals!

I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I get very self conscious around others when I’m exercising, yet I still make myself go to the gym and participate in races. This problem will not beat me. I refuse to give it power over me. Now, I just laugh to myself when I see the side long glances from people on the treadmill next to me. I don’t explain myself, although I feel like I should sometimes. I fully expect the EMTs to follow me during races if they hear me. They wouldn’t be doing their jobs otherwise! A friend told me I should get a shirt that says “It’s OK, wheezing is normal” to wear when racing. Maybe she’s on to something there!

Or maybe a thong…